India Weather Highlights: Southwest monsoon to advance further over Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab

India Weather Highlights: Apart from Mumbai, IMD has predicted thunderstorms and heavy rainfall in parts of parts of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha and northeast India.

By: Express Web Desk
New Delhi | Updated: September 5, 2023 01:16 PM IST
A man crosses the waterlogged road amid heavy rainfallA man crosses the waterlogged road amid heavy rainfall, in Thane on Wednesday. (ANI Photo)

🌧️ India Weather Live Updates: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reports forecast that conditions remain favourable for further advancement of the southwest monsoon to remaining parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab in the next two days. It also said that southwest monsoon has further forayed to remaining parts of north Arabian sea and other parts of Rajasthan today.

The Met Department upgraded the the ‘yellow’ alert to ‘orange’, as Mumbai city and its suburbs witnessed heavy showers since today morning. It sounded an ‘orange’ alert for Mumbai as well as its neighbouring districts of Palghar, Thane, and Raigad which is slated to be in place throughout Wednesday. Furthermore, Mumbai civic authorities confirmed the death of two persons today in rain-related incidents.

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In Delhi, light to moderate rainfall was recorded in parts of Delhi on Tuesday making the weather pleasant, with the maximum temperature settling at 34.8 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal. Meanwhile, Kerala has received deficient rainfall so far, according to the IMD. The southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala on June 8, nearly a week after its normal onset date of June 1

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India Weather Highlights: Heavy rains predicted across India today; Yellow alert for Mumbai, warnings issues in Himachal, Uttarakhand; Kerala receives deficient rainfall | Scroll down for latest updates.

22:38 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Heavy downpour forecast for Maharashtra on June 29

The India Meteorological Department predicted heavy to very heavy rains in Thane, Raigad, Palghar, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Nashik districts of Maharashtra on June 29.


21:06 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Light rainfall turns Delhi weather pleasant New Delhi

Cloudy sky with cool breeze brought respite from heat in the capital on Wednesday, as the maximum temperature settling at 36.4 °C degrees Celsius, one notches below normal. An India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said the city received light rainfall at few places. Rainfall in the category of 15.6-64.4 mm is referred to as moderate rainfall, he said. (PTI)

18:59 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Landslide strikes Himachal Pradesh in the wake of heavy downpour

Torrential rain triggered landslide in Solan district of Himachal Pradesh. 


18:35 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Southwest monsoon continues to advance

The southwest monsoon has further forayed to remaining parts of north Arabian sea and other parts of Rajasthan today, as per IMD evening updates. The northern limit of the monsoon now sweeps over Bikaner, Narnaul and Firozpur. Conditions remain favourable for further advancement of the southwest monsoon to remaining parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab in the next two days.

18:30 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Goa's beaches off-limits amid rains: Swimming, water sports suspended

The Goa governement has sut down due to monsoon rains and discontinued swimming and water sports. Private life guard agency has been deployed by the state government to avert any untoward incidents, as tourists continue to arrive. 

17:47 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Thunderstorm forecast for Delhi

The IMD predicted thunderstorm with moderate to heavy intensity rain and winds gusting with speed of 30-50 kmph to lash adjoining areas of isolated places in Delhi such as Pitampura, Mundaka, Pashchim Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Jafarpur, Nazafgarh, Vasant Vihar, Vasant Kunj, Mahrauli, Chhattarpur, Ayanagar, Deramandi, along with Dwarka, Palam and IGI Airport.

17:37 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Monsoon tragedy strikes again: Fatal accident in Mumbai

In another case of tree collapse, a 30-year-old man died and another was injured when branches of a tree fell on a house, near MG Road in Goregaon West. The victim has been identified as Premlal Nirmal, who was rushed to a private hospital, wherein the medical officers pronounced him dead. 

The city is witnessing several cases of tree collapses owing to heavy showers. As per reports, the BMC recorded 23 cases of tree collapses, in the last two days.

17:32 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Snapshot: Monsoon delight

Parrots enjoying a meal during monsoon rains near Swargate flyover on Wednesday. (Express photograph by Arul Horizon)

16:40 (IST)28 Jun 2023
In pictures: Mumbai's rain woes

As torrrential rains lashed across the commercial capital of India today, normalcy was disrupted for commuters on the Mumbai roads.

Vehicles move on a road amid rain in Mumbai, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. (PTI Photo)
Commuters wade through a waterlogged road amid rain in Mumbai, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. (PTI Photo)
Commuters on a waterlogged road amid rain in Mumbai, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. (PTI Photo)
A commuter wades through a waterlogged road amid rain in Mumbai, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. (PTI Photo)
16:13 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Thunderstorm forecast for parts of Central India

As per IMD forewarning, light to moderate fairly widespread with isolated heavy falls with thunderstorm and lightning is expected Madhya Pradesh in the next three days and over Chhattisgarh and Vidarbha in the next 24 hours. Isolated very heavy rainfall is predicted over West Madhya Pradesh during in the next three days.

16:06 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Isolated heavy downpour forecast for east and adjoining northeast India

The IMD predicted fairly widespread to widespread light/moderate rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls extremely likely over sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, along with Arunachal Pradesh during next five days. Isolated heavy rainfall also likely over Jharkhand, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal today and in Bihar in the next three days.

16:05 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Isolated heavy downpour forecast for east and adjoining northeast India

The IMD predicted fairly widespread to widespread light/moderate rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls extremely likely over sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, along with Arunachal Pradesh during next five days. Isolated heavy rainfall also likely over Jharkhand, Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal today and in Bihar in the next three days.

15:32 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Mumbai rain preparedness: Pumping station in Dharavi

A pumping station has been installed at Dharavi to pump out 1,000 cubic metre of water every hour, says Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal.


15:30 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Mumbai faces series of tree falls, building collapse and short-circuit incidents

In the 24 hours since previous morning, there have been 26 incidents of tree fall, 15 incidents of short-circuit and five incidents of collapse or partial collapse of houses, as per the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). A tree collapse incident claimed a man's life in suburban Malad, the BMC said in a release.

15:23 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Thunderstorm alert in Delhi and nearby regions

Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas of few places of Delhi (Jafarpur, Nazafgarh, Dwarka, Palam, IGI Airport, Ayanagar, Deramandi), NCR ( Bahadurgarh, Gurugram, Ballabhgarh) Nuh (Haryana) Kithor, Garhmukteshwar (U.P.) Tizara (Rajasthan) . Light intensity rain/drizzle would occur over and adjoining areas of Khurja, Gabhana, Jattari (U.P.) Alwar, Nagar, Nadbai (Rajasthan) during next 2 hours.

15:14 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Train traffic disruption in Jabalpur

Train movement was disrupted on Itarsi-Jabalpur rail section in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday due to soil erosion in the area following heavy rains, an official said. Five long distance trains coming from Mumbai, Pune and other places were diverted to Itarsi-Bhopal route and Rani Kamalapati Station (Bhopal)-Jabalpur Intercity train was terminated at Gadarwara station (Narsinghpur district). 

Rail traffic was stopped after information was received at around 10 am from a trackman about soil erosion under a bridge located on the Balu river between Narsinghpur and Kareli stations, Jabalpur railway division's senior commercial manager Vishwa Ranjan said. Repair work is underway, he added. (PTI)

15:08 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Torrential rains trigger waterlogging in Mumbai

Mumbai witnessed heavy downpour causing severe waterlogging at SV Road in Borivali West.VIDEO | Heavy rains continue to lash Mumbai triggering severe waterlogging in SV Road area of Borivali West, Andheri subway and several parts of Thane.

13:01 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Indian Ocean Dipole: What is it, how it can limit El Nino effects

With the El Nino phenomenon almost certain to affect the Indian monsoon this year, high hopes are pinned on the development of a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and its ability to counterbalance the El Nino effect. The IOD is an ocean-atmosphere interaction very similar to the El Nino fluctuations in the Pacific Ocean, playing out, as the name shows, in the Indian Ocean. It is also a much weaker system than El Nino, and thus has relatively limited impacts.

But a positive IOD does have the potential to offset the impacts of El Nino to a small measure in neighbouring areas, and it has, at least once in the past (1997), delivered admirably on this potential. Amitabh Sinha writes

11:39 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Goa witnesses heavy rains, IMD issues 'yellow' alert for coastal state

Heavy rains lashed parts of Goa in the last 24 hours and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a 'yellow' alert for the coastal state till Thursday, forecasting heavy showers at isolated places. Several parts of Goa's capital Panaji, including the low-lying 18th June Road and Mala area, were inundated on Tuesday night due to incessant rains.

The flood waters receded by Wednesday morning. The incessant rains and blocked drains had led to inundation, a senior official of the Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP) said on Tuesday. (PTI)

10:37 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Late monsoon is not a big worry: 5 reasons why

The southwest monsoon is late this year – but that is not a reason to worry. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday, May 16, had predicted that the onset of southwest monsoon in Kerala is delayed by four days. An agricultural economy, India is heavily reliant on the monsoon which brings 75 percent of its annual rainfall. But, IMD’s announcement alone is no reason to fret. Read here

09:59 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Watch | Over 67,000 affected after heavy rains lash Assam

More than 67,000 people from 93 villages in Assam's Barpeta district have been affected after the state witnessed heavy downpour over the past few days. Data from the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) said that 225 hectares of cropland in Barpeta district are currently inundated.

In the last 48 hours, three children died in after drowning in flood waters taking the state death toll to six, news agency ANI reported. 

09:56 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Heavy rains predicted across India today

With several parts of the country witnessing heavy downpour over the past few days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a heavy to very heavy rainfall warning for Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat.

09:54 (IST)28 Jun 2023
Welcome to today's blog

Hello! Welcome to today's blog. We bring to you the latest updates on monsoon in India. Stay tuned and follow our coverage :)

21:12 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Improvement in current monsoon season rainfall: IMD

The IMD has confirmed an improvement in the current monsoon rainfall over India, with the % departure from long period average falling from - 51% for June 1 to June 15, 2023, to -19% for June 1 to June 27, 2023.

20:30 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Pune | Satara road amid rains on Tuesday

Express photo by Arul Horizon

18:50 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Mumbai | City placed under yellow alert

Interim monsoon rains lashed Mumbai as the city was placed under yellow alert.

18:28 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Delhi: Heavy rains lash some parts of the national capital

Heavy rains lashed Delhi as monsoon covers the whole country, except some parts of northwest India, according to the IMD.

17:19 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Assam floods | 88000 still affected in Barpeta

The flood situation in Barpeta district of Assam has seen improvement, but nearly 88,000 people have been affected in the aftermath. The people affected are taking shelter in relief camps set up by the district administration or on embankments.

16:45 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Bihar | Parts of Patna receive rainfall

As per the IMD, the capital of Bihar, Patna, is predicted to receive one or two spells of rain today with partly cloudy sky over the city.

16:37 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Shimla | Heavy rain alert continues at some places

Shimla in Himachal Pradesh continues to receive heavy rain, with a possibility of downpour for the next five days. The IMD has issued an orange alert in the city for today. 

16:32 (IST)27 Jun 2023
IMD Warning: Heavy rainfall likely over Kerala, Lakshadweep, coastal Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh today

The IMD has released a warning stating that some parts of east India, north-east India, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarkhand may receive heavy rainfall during the next five days. 

16:23 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Maharashtra | IMD issues orange alert in Thane, Pune and other areas

The IMD has issued an orange alert in some areas of Maharashtra like Thane, Raigad, Nashik, Pune and Satara for June 28. (ANI)

15:55 (IST)27 Jun 2023
IMD | Kerala has received deficient rainfall so far

The India Meteorological Department has said that Kerala has received deficient rainfall so far. The onset of the South-west monsoon had been delayed by a week in the state, with the monsoon arriving in Kerala on June 8. (PTI)

15:19 (IST)27 Jun 2023
West Bengal: CM Mamata Banerjee's helicopter makes emergency landing

West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's helicopter had to make an emergency landing at the Sevoke airbase near Siliguri due to bad weather today afternoon. Banerjee was on her way to Bagdodra airport post addressing a rally in Jalpaiguri. (PTI)

15:08 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Assam | Locals in Balaji take shelter on embankments amid floods

Although the flood situation in Assam has marginally improved, it has caused damage to many locals' homes, forcing them to take shelter on embankments. (ANI)

14:52 (IST)27 Jun 2023
IMD Update: Heavy Rainfall in Himachal, UP for the past 24 hours; heavy to very heavy rainfall in both western and eastern India

The IMD released a weather update for the last 24 hours, with heavy rainfall being observed in the Western Ghats as well as the eastern and north-eastern states.

13:59 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Watch | Chandigarh-Manali highway reopens after nearly 24 hours

Single lane movement of traffic has been restored on Chandigarh-Manali national highway in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh after it was blocked due to landslide leaving hundreds of commuters stranded. (PTI)

 

13:59 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Watch | Chandigarh-Manali highway reopens after nearly 24 hours

Single lane movement of traffic has been restored on Chandigarh-Manali national highway in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh after it was blocked due to landslide leaving hundreds of commuters stranded. (PTI)

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">VIDEO | Single lane movement of traffic has been restored on Chandigarh-Manali national highway in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh after it was blocked due to landslide leaving hundreds of commuters stranded. <a href="https://t.co/iOfwvZICwA">pic.twitter.com/iOfwvZICwA</a></p>&mdash; Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) <a href="https://twitter.com/PTI_News/status/1673323388595580929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2023</a></blockquote> 

13:55 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Watch | Parts of Delhi receive rainfall
13:08 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Rajasthan | Several parts of state receive light to moderate rain 

Light to moderate rainfall drenched many parts of Rajasthan while a few places recorded heavy rainfall in the 24 hours ended at 8.30 am on Tuesday, the Met office said.

Sojat in Pali received the highest rainfall at 10 cm. Malpura in Tonk received 9 cm of rainfall, followed by Chidwa in Jhunjhunu at 8 cm, it said.

Gegal (Ajmer), Kotputli (Jaipur), Makrana (Nagaur), Jodhpur and Shahbad (Baran) received 7 cm of rainfall each while Behror (Alwar), Dausa, Bhilwara, Gogund (Udaipur) and Bundi each recorded 6 cm of rain. (PTI) 

12:41 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Tandi-Killar State Highway-26 blocked in Himachal due to flash floods

Heavy rain triggered a flash flood in Himachal Pradesh that led to the blocking of Tandi-Killar State Highway-26 in Dared Nala, news agency ANI reported.

"Today, on 27/06/2023 at 07:50 am, according to the information received from the District Disaster Management Authority Lahaul-Spiti, Pangi-Killar Highway (SH-26) has been blocked due to a flash flood in Dared Nala," SDRF of Himachal Pradesh tweeted.

12:16 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Maharashtra | Mumbai, Thane, Palghar brace for heavy showers; BMC predicts moderate rain on Tuesday

Amid an orange alert indicating heavy to very heavy rainfall sounded by India Meteorological Department IMD, Mumbai, Thane and Palghar are bracing for heavy showers on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) bulletin forecasted moderate rain in the city and suburbs with possibility of heavy rain at isolated places.

Between 8 am on Monday and 8 am on Tuesday, the eastern suburbs recorded maximum rain at 63 mm, followed by 60 mm in the western suburbs and 34 mm in the island city. Read more

12:15 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Rainfall in northwest India reduce monsoon deficit, but overall situation worrisome

Nearly two weeks of relatively good rainfall over many parts of the country has significantly reduced the monsoon deficit for June, but, as of now, Northwest India is the only region that has received better than expected rainfall.

Despite the recent rains, India as a whole had a deficit of about 23 per cent till Monday. But it is far better than over 50 per cent deficit that existed around the middle of this month. Initially, it was rains brought by cyclone Biparjoy over Gujarat and Rajasthan that helped in improving the situation a bit, and in the last one week, rains over most of northwest India has resulted in bridging the deficit.

However, the overall situation is not very comfortable, with only one out of the four broad geographical regions, northwest India, having received better than normal rainfall. Southern India still has a shortfall of 46 per cent, while central India has received 35 per cent below normal rainfall.  Read more

11:51 (IST)27 Jun 2023
CM Pushkar Singh Dhami instructs officials to be alert amid heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday said the National Disaster Relief Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force have been instructed to remain on "alert mode" in case of a natural disaster as the state witnessed torrential rains in past few days.

"Heavy to very heavy rain" has been predicted at isolated places in Dehradun and Tehri Garhwal districts, as per the bulletin issued by the meteorological centre on Monday.

Char Dham Yatra remaind suspended amid heavy rainfall as a precautionary measure, as per officials. (ANI)

11:22 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Himachal flash floods: Chandigarh-Manali highway reopens after nearly 24 hours

The Chandigarh-Manali national highway was restored for traffic on Monday night after remaining closed for almost 24 hours owing to landslides and flash floods, officials said.

Hundreds of commuters, including tourists, were stranded in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district as the highway was blocked since Sunday evening. The 70-km Mandi-Pandoh-Kullu stretch of the highway was blocked at Khotinallah near Aut, about 40 km from Mandi town, following flash floods while the Mandi-Pandoh stretch was blocked near 6 Miles after a landslide.

Light to moderate rains continued to lash several parts of Himachal Pradesh and the MeT office has issued a warning of heavy rainfall, thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places on June 28 and 29 and thunderstorm and lightning on June 30 and July 1. (PTI)

11:02 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Pune | IMD issues orange alert for Pune, heavy rain likely for 2 days

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for Pune and its surrounding ghat regions for 48 hours. An orange alert indicates the probability of heavy (64.5 mm-115.5 mm of rainfall in 24 hours) to very heavy (115.5-204.5 mm of rainfall in 24 hours) rainfall.

The monsoon is in an active to vigorous state in and around Pune city, which has recorded around 7 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours, most of it at night. The city has received around 52 mm of precipitation this season.

10:32 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Watch | Rain lashes parts of Dibrugarh

According to IMD's forecast, partly cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers are likely to occur in Dibrugarh today, news agency ANI reported.

10:03 (IST)27 Jun 2023
Monsoon arrives in Northern, Western parts of country; IMD issues alert for heavy rainfall

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert for heavy rainfall in most parts of the country as the monsoon reached the Northern and Western parts of the country, news agency ANI reported.

Conditions are favourable for further advance of Southwest Monsoon into some more parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, remaining parts of Haryana and Punjab during the next 2 days, the weather agency IMD informed.

21:06 (IST)26 Jun 2023
IMD issues ‘heavy rain alert’ in U’khand for next 24 hours

The IMD issued a ‘heavy rainfall alert’ for Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag and Bageshwar districts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday.

21:06 (IST)26 Jun 2023
Char Dham Yatra halted due to bad weather

The Char Dham Yatra has been halted due to bad weather en route to Kedarnath and Badrinath, informed Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami.

“Snowfall, rains and landslides have occurred at various places and traffic has been disrupted due to the same. We appeal to travellers coming for Char Dham Yatra to continue their journey once the weather clears up,” he was quoted saying by news agency ANI. 

20:13 (IST)26 Jun 2023
Muggy weather conditions in Delhi, max temperature settles at 33.2 deg C

Muggy weather conditions prevailed in Delhi on Monday even as some parts of the national capital received rains, keeping the mercury in check.

There was a cloud cover over Delhi throughout the day with Safdarjung observatory recording a high of 33.2 degrees Celsius, four notches below the season's average, the weather office said.

The minimum temperature was recorded at 25.4 degrees Celsius, three degrees below normal. Humidity levels oscillated between 98 per cent and 69 per cent. (PTI)

19:22 (IST)26 Jun 2023
Flood situation slowly improving in Barpeta district of Assam
19:21 (IST)26 Jun 2023
Single lane movement of traffic restored on Chandigarh-Manali national highway in Mandi
19:19 (IST)26 Jun 2023
Heavy rain lashes Jodhpur in Rajasthan
18:48 (IST)26 Jun 2023
Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department issues advisory for tourists
18:44 (IST)26 Jun 2023
Mandi-Kullu route open after almost 20 hours
18:40 (IST)26 Jun 2023
Mandi-Kullu route via Katola open after almost 20 hours

Hundreds of commuters were stranded in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district as the Chandigarh-Manali national highway was blocked following flash floods and landslides, officials said on Monday.

The 70-km Mandi-Pandoh-Kullu stretch has been badly affected, they said.

The alternative Mandi-Kullu route via Kataula, blocked due to landslide, has been opened after almost 20 hours and small vehicles are now being diverted through this stretch, said the officials of the Mandi administration.

A total of 301 roads are closed in the state following heavy rains, while 140 power transformers are disrupted. (PTI)

18:01 (IST)26 Jun 2023
Ahmedabad: Traffic jam near RTO circle following heavy rain on Monday

(Express Photos by Nirmal Harindran)

17:44 (IST)26 Jun 2023
Himachal landslide: One way movement for light vehicles from Mandi to Kullu is now open

Kandi-Kautala road status: the one way movement for light vehicle from Mandi to Kullu is opened for traffic and movement from Kullu to Mandi is still restricted. As per the information from ( *04:50 PM report* ) from NHAI authority, one lane of the road is opened for traffic movement near 6-mile and 7-mile areas.

(Incessant rains triggered a landslide on the Chandigarh-Manali highway (NH 21) near Mandi owing to landslides since Sunday evening, forcing the authorities to block the highway today.)

17:09 (IST)26 Jun 2023
J&K: Trucks stranded in the Udhampur dist. on Jammu-Srinagar national highway due to landslides

 

monsoon

Late monsoon is not a big worry: 5 reasons why

The southwest monsoon is late this year – but that is not a reason to worry. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday, May 16, had predicted that the onset of southwest monsoon in Kerala is delayed by four days. An agricultural economy, India is heavily reliant on the monsoon which brings 75 percent of its annual rainfall. But, IMD’s announcement alone is no reason to fret.

Here are 5 reasons why.

Punctuality no indicator of performance: The onset of monsoon, which normally occurs on June 1, merely marks the official beginning of the four-month long season. The onset is just a declaration that a set of criteria defined by the IMD to identify the arrival of the monsoon over the Indian mainland has been met. It does not in any way dictate rainfall over the rest of the season.

Delay may not cause further delays: The monsoon moves northwards from Kerala, and the speed of its movement is dictated by local atmospheric conditions and the development of low-pressure areas. Late arrival over Kerala sometimes delays the arrival at some other locations as well, but not always.

Exception is the rule: In the past five years, only once has the onset of monsoon happened on its normal date of 1 June – in 2020. In the past 11 years, it has happened only once more. For the remaining years, the onset was either a few days earlier or later.

El Nino the bigger fish: The real concern this year is the El Nino effect – the warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which is likely to develop earlier than expected this year. El Nino acts as a suppressant for Indian rainfall. The IMD’s forecast later this month will assess the kind of impact that El Nino is likely to have on this year’s rain.

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