Monsoon racing across India after arriving late

Experts say it could cover India a fortnight before schedule under favourable conditions

NEW DELHI: The South-west monsoon may have arrived two days late in Kerala, but it has picked up pace and swept across nearly half of the country six days ahead of schedule, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday, with experts indicating that it could cover the entire nation about a fortnight before its normal date of July 8 under favourable conditions.

A low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal is likely to hasten the progress of the monsoon, experts say.

The earliest the monsoon has covered the entire country in the past is June 16, 2013, nine years ago. In 2020, the monsoon covered the entire country only by June 26. In 2019, this date was July 19, and in 2018, June 29, according to a

Skymet report. Typically, the monsoon covers all of India by the end of the first week of July.

India recorded 21% excess rain between June 1 and 9, according to official data, with the rainfall in May being the second highest since 1901 at 107.9mm. The highest rainfall for May was recorded in 1990 at 110.7 mm.

The monsoon arrived in the Kerala coast on June 3 – the predicted date of onset was June 1 – but reached Mumbai on May 8, two days before its expected date of arrival. Till Thursday, the monsoon had covered all of Maharashtra, southern Madhya Pradesh and half of Odisha. It usually covers these regions by June 15. It is also likely to reach Delhi earlier than usual, according to Kuldeep Shrivastava, who heads IMD’S Regional Weather Forecasting Centre. The monsoon usually arrives in Delhi by the end of June.

“Monsoon is normally active during onset, and a low pressure area that is likely to develop over the Bay of Bengal is helping its progress,” said M Rajeevan, secretary, ministry of earth sciences. “Widespread

Rajasthan

Gujarat

Haryana

Uttar Pradesh

Maharashtra

Telangana

Goa

Lakshadweep

J&K

Punjab

Madhya Pradesh

Karnataka

Kerala

Ladakh

Andhra Pradesh

Tamil Nadu

Himachal Pradesh Uttarakhand

Bihar

Jharkhand Chhattisgarh

Odisha

West Bengal

Arunachal Pradesh

Assam

Andaman &

Nicobar