Monsoon on Track, Says IMD, But Forecasts Late Entry for Mumbai; NE States May See Heavy Rains in 5 Days

The monsoon is progressing normally and will likely reach Maharashtra in the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday. The IMD has also warned of isolated extremely heavy rainfall (more than 204.5 mm) in Arunachal Pradesh on June 10-11, and Assam and Meghalaya during the next five days.

The monsoon accounts for around 70 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall and is considered the lifeline of its agriculture-based economy. Senior IMD scientist R K Jenamani said monsoon touched the Kerala coast on May 29 and covered south and central Arabian Sea, Kerala, parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and the entire northeast between May 31 and June 7.

“There is no delay in the progress of monsoon. It is likely to reach Maharashtra in the next two days and cover Mumbai in the subsequent two days,” he told reporters on Thursday, dismissing reports that its progress had slowed down.

“We have strong monsoon features — there are strong winds and clouds have started developing — for the next two days,” he added.

From Thursday onwards, the IMD is expecting regular advancement of SW monsoon as the Extended Range Forecast said that conditions are favourable for the further advance of monsoon over Goa and some more parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the next two days. It is likely to reach Uttar Pradesh between June 16 and June 22, the IMD said in an extended range forecast.

Jenamani said extremely heavy rainfall is predicted over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya over the next few days. Assam was hit by a wave of floods last month. Intense pre-monsoon rain and flooding caused massive damage to the state’s infrastructure, including bridges, roads and railway tracks.

Monsoon Will Make Late Entry in Mumbai

Rains are likely to miss the official June 11 onset date and the arrival may not be robust, say experts, even as pre-monsoon showers lashed parts of Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai on Thursday. Last year, the monsoon had officially arrived on June 9, and on the same day Mumbai had recorded over 100mm of rainfall.

The IMD had predicted cloudy skies with a possibility of rain or thundershowers on Thursday and Friday, over Mumbai. The IMD has set 11 June as the date of monsoon onset in Mumbai which could fluctuate depending on the arrival of monsoon in other parts of the country like Konkan and Goa regions, after which it will reach Mumbai.

Delhi to Likely Get Light Showers Today

The national capital experienced a warm morning on Friday with a minimum temperature of 29.8 degrees celsius, two notches above the normal, according to India Meteorological Department.

Cloudy skies and light rain has been predicted during the day while the maximum temperature is expected to settle at 43.8 degrees Celsius. The relative humidity at 8.30 am was 36 per cent, the weather office said.

Clear Sky in J&K

The Meteorological department on Friday predicted mainly clear sky in Jammu and Kashmir with very light rain towards the afternoon during the next 24 hours.

Weather in the union territory remained mainly clear on Thursday. “Weather is likely to remain mainly clear with possibility of very light rain towards the afternoon in J&K during the next 24 hours,” an official of the MeT department said.

Meanwhile, Srinagar recorded 14.6 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam 9.6 degrees and Gulmarg 4.8 degrees as the minimum temperature. Drass had 5.1 degrees, Leh 5.8 and Kargil 11.2 as the night’s lowest temperature. Jammu registered 31degrees, Katra 27.8, Batote 19.3, Banihal 15.2 and Bhaderwah 15.5 as the minimum temperature.

Rain Will Not Play Spoilsport in Karnataka’s Yoga Day Celebrations

Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre scientific officer Sunil Gavaskar informed that as per forecast, the possibility of rain on June 21, International Yoga Day, is less and even if it rains it will not be heavy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will practise yoga asanas at the Mysore Palace, which is being prepped for the day under the supervision of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.

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