After racing across large parts of the country ahead of schedule, the southwest monsoon has hit a temporary pause over Maharashtra, even as weather conditions point to thunderstorms and light rain in Delhi over the next few days. With El Nino conditions in place, the monsoon rain is forecast to be below normal this year.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said the monsoon’s advance over the remaining parts of Maharashtra has stalled due to the absence of favourable large-scale weather systems. While the monsoon entered parts of South Konkan and adjoining South Madhya Maharashtra on June 8, its progress has slowed considerably since then.
Monsoon advance stalls over Maharashtra
According to the IMD map, weakened low-level southwesterly winds over the Arabian Sea have reduced the transport of moisture towards Maharashtra’s coast and interior regions. The department noted that the usual strong surge of moist winds from the Arabian Sea, which helps drive monsoon advancement, is currently missing.
Satellite image from June 18 showing the monsoon cloud cover (Source: IMD)
IMD also pointed to a weakened cross-equatorial flow over the western Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea which was a source of monsoon moisture. In addition, there are no significant low-pressure systems, cyclonic circulations or a sufficiently active offshore trough along the west coast that could aid the monsoon’s northward movement.
June 17 flow. (Source: IMD)
The weather department said large-scale atmospheric patterns do not indicate support for monsoon advancement at present. As a result, rainfall across much of Maharashtra is expected to remain isolated over the next four to five days.
However, weather models indicate an increase in rainfall along the Konkan coast around June 24-25, which could help revive monsoon progress.
Fast start to monsoon season
Before the current pause, this year’s southwest monsoon has advanced unusually quickly across India.
The monsoon reached Kerala on May 22, nearly a week ahead of its normal onset date of June 1. It then progressed rapidly over the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, spreading across southern, eastern and central India well before schedule.
Advanced southwest monsoon 2026 map showing the normal and actual monsoon pattern. (Source: IMD)
By June 17, the monsoon had covered the entire Northeast, most of eastern and central India, and large parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal. Parts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have also come under monsoon influence.
Regions still awaiting monsoon arrival include parts of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and western Gujarat.
Fresh advance likely next week
According to the latest weather bulletin, conditions are becoming favourable for the monsoon to advance further into parts of Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh around June 23.
Meanwhile, isolated heavy rainfall is likely over Bihar, Northeast India, and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim during the coming week.
Delhi weather today
Delhi NCR has been receiving rain intermittently for the past couple of weeks. This has brought down the extreme heat in the national capital region to some extent.
The IMD has now forecast thunderstorms accompanied by light rain on Thursday, with similar weather expected over the next two days.
Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 27.9 degrees Celsius on Thursday morning, slightly above the seasonal average. The maximum temperature is expected to hover around 38 degrees Celsius.
The capital’s air quality remained in the ‘moderate’ category, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at 143 at 9 am.
According to the forecast, Delhi is likely to witness partly cloudy skies through June 20, with intermittent spells of light rain, thunderstorms and lightning. On June 20, strong winds reaching 40-50 kmph and gusting up to 60 kmph may accompany thunderstorm.
Heavy rain alert for Northeast and eastern states
The IMD has forecast widespread rainfall across Northeast India between June 18 and June 23. Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are likely to receive heavy rainfall during this period, with very heavy rain expected at isolated locations in Assam and Meghalaya.
Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim are also expected to witness intense rainfall activity, including isolated very heavy rain spells over the coming days.
In eastern India, Bihar and Odisha remain under watch for heavy rain and thunderstorm activity, while Jharkhand may experience thundersqualls with wind speeds of up to 70 kmph.
Heatwave
Even as rain-bearing systems remain active over several parts of India, heatwave conditions continue across pockets of central and northern India.
The IMD has warned of heatwave conditions over parts of Madhya Pradesh until June 21, Vidarbha until June 20, Telangana until June 19, and isolated areas of Bihar and Odisha on June 18. Parts of eastern and western Uttar Pradesh are also likely to experience heatwave conditions over the next few days.
Maximum temperatures are expected to rise by 2-3 degrees Celsius across central India until June 19 before stabilising, while Maharashtra may see a gradual fall in temperatures after June 20 as rainfall increases.
People with umbrellas stand amid rain at Kartavya Path, in New Delhi on Tuesday. (Source: ANI) 
Satellite image from June 18 showing the monsoon cloud cover (Source: IMD)
June 17 flow. (Source: IMD)
Advanced southwest monsoon 2026 map showing the normal and actual monsoon pattern. (Source: IMD)
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