NEW DELHI, 9 Jun: The monsoon is progressing normally and is likely to reach Maharashtra in the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday.
The MeT office has also warned of isolated extremely heavy rainfall (more than 204.5 mm) in Arunachal Pradesh on 10-11 June, and Assam and Meghalaya during the next five days.
The monsoon accounts for around 70 percent of the country’s annual rainfall and is considered the lifeline of its agriculture-based economy.
Senior IMD scientist RK Jenamani said that the monsoon touched the Kerala coast on 29 May and covered south and central Arabian Sea, Kerala, parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and the entire Northeast between 31 May and 7 June.
“There is no delay in the progress of the monsoon. It is likely to reach Maharashtra in the next two days and cover Mumbai in the subsequent two days,” he told reporters here, 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.
The scientist said 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.
The IMD had last month said that the southwest monsoon would be normal and quantitatively be 103 percent of the 50-year average of 87 cm rainfall received in the entire season.
It will be the seventh consecutive year when the country would receive normal rainfall during the June-September period.
Jenamani said extremely heavy rainfall is predicted over Arunachal, 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.
Asked if the monsoon will reach Delhi-NCR and other parts of northwest India around the usual date, Jenamani said it was too early to say anything.
Last year, the IMD had forecast that the monsoon would arrive in Delhi nearly two weeks before its usual date (27 June). However, it reached the capital and neighbouring areas only on 13 July, making it the most delayed in 19 years.
The monsoon had entered a “break” phase and there was virtually no progress from 20 June to 8 July. (PTI)
