India, July 7 -- The Lonavla ghat section recorded an extraordinary 670 mm of rainfall in the 24-hour period ending at 8:30 am on Monday, triggering landslides, disrupting road and rail connectivity between Pune and Mumbai, and forcing authorities to declare a holiday for all schools in Pune district.

While updated rainfall data for Lonavla after 8:30 am was unavailable until Monday evening, weather scientists described the downpour as a rare occurrence. Weather scientist K.S. Hosalikar said the 670 mm rainfall qualifies as a 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event, making it one of the rarest extreme weather events recorded in the region.

Explaining the significance, weather experts said such an event has only a 0.1% probability of occurring on...