Southwest monsoon to advance over Central, Eastern and Western India over next two to three days: IMD

The development assumes significance as it is likely to boost kharif sowing, as most of the areas in these three regions are heavily dependent on monsoon rains. 

This advancement will cause light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds in parts of central and eastern India, including Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, parts of West Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, during 13 to 17 June.

IMD also forecasts thundersqualls over West Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh and Bihar from 13 June to 15 June. Also, some parts of this region are likely to witness isolated heavy rainfall during 13 to 19 June.

West may see very heavy rain

On the western front, light to moderate rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning, is predicted over Madhya Maharashtra, Gujarat, Marathawada, Konkan, Goa, Saurashtra, and Kutch from 13 to 16 June. Some parts of this region will also experience rainfall ranging from heavy to very heavy from 13 to 19 June. Extremely heavy rainfall is likely to be experienced over Konkan and Goa from 13 to 16 June, according to IMD.

However, there will be no respite from the heatwave in the Northwest region over the next two days.”Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are likely to continue over Northwest India, including Western Himalayan Region, during the next two days and reduce thereafter,” said IMD in a statement.

The IMD forecasts that heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are likely in many places in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh from 13 to 15 June.

Northwest heatwave to ease

On Thursday, in the North Western region, maximum temperatures were in the range of 43-48°C over most places in Rajasthan and Punjab, a few places in Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and isolated places in Uttar Pradesh. The highest maximum temperature of 47.8°C was reported at Sri Ganganagar (Rajasthan) on Thursday.

North Western India, including Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and West Uttar Pradesh, is expected to experience light to moderate rainfall along with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds from 13 to 19 June.

Isolated heavy rainfall is also likely to be experienced in Uttarakhand, East Uttar Pradesh, and West Uttar Pradesh from 13 to 19 June. Also, a dust storm or thundersquall is predicted over isolated places in Rajasthan from 13 to 17 June.

South in active monsoon phase

The IMD, in a statement, also said that the monsoon is likely to be in the active phase, with heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places and extremely heavy rainfall (>20 cm/24 hours) at isolated places over south peninsular India and Konkan and Goa during 13-17 June.

Also, in south peninsular India, light to moderate rainfall is predicted over Kerala, Karnataka, and Lakshadweep during the next seven days. Further, light to moderate rainfall accompanied by isolated thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds is expected over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, Rayalaseema, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal from 13 to 17 June.