Monsoon advances after brief pause; IMD forecasts widespread rain

Monsoon likely to cover more parts of Maharashtra, Telangana and eastern India; heavy rain, thunderstorms forecast across regions till June 28

After a brief pause in its northward movement, the southwest monsoon has regained momentum, advancing into more parts of Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar.

 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said conditions remain favourable for further advancement of the monsoon over the next 48 hours. The weather agency has forecast widespread rainfall, thunderstorms and heavy rain alerts across several regions through the week.

Monsoon advances after brief lull

The IMD said the southwest monsoon advanced further on June 22 into additional parts of the central Arabian Sea, Maharashtra, Telangana, the remaining parts of Karnataka, and parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar.

 

The northern limit of southwest monsoon continues to pass through Alibag, Pune, Nizamabad, Dantewada, Balangir, Sundargarh, Chatra, Gaya, Muzaffarpur as of June 22.

 

Conditions remain favourable for the monsoon to spread into the remaining parts of central Arabian Sea, more areas of Maharashtra including Mumbai, and additional parts of Telangana, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar during the next two days.

 

The revival comes after a brief slowdown in monsoon progress earlier this month due to unfavourable large-scale weather conditions.

Heavy rainfall likely in several states

Rainfall activity is expected to intensify across large parts of southern, eastern and northeastern India over the coming days.

 

The IMD has forecast widespread rain over Kerala, coastal Karnataka, Telangana and adjoining parts of south peninsular India, with some areas likely to receive heavy to very heavy showers.

 

In the east, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of West Bengal are expected to witness frequent spells of rain as the monsoon strengthens across the region.

 

Meanwhile, the Northeast is likely to remain the wettest part of the country, with heavy to very heavy rainfall forecast over Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.

Thunderstorms in northwest

Apart from monsoon rain, thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and strong winds are likely across many parts of the country. The IMD has warned of gusty winds reaching 40-60 kmph over parts of central India, eastern states, the northeast and peninsular India.

 

Northwest India, including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, is also expected to witness intermittent thunderstorm activity over the next few days. Rajasthan may experience thundersqualls with stronger wind speeds, while isolated duststorm activity cannot be ruled out in some western districts.

 

These weather systems are expected to provide localised relief from heat in some regions, although heatwave conditions may continue in pockets of Vidarbha, east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.

Delhi weather forecast

According to the IMD's Delhi forecast, the national capital is likely to experience a generally cloudy sky with light rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds during the next few days.

 

Thunderstorm activity accompanied by wind speeds of up to 50-60 kmph remains likely through June 26 under the influence of prevailing weather systems over northwest India.

 

The minimum temperature on Tuesday settled at 26.8 degrees Celsius while the maximum temperature is expected to hover between 39-41 degrees Celsius.