Monsoon to hit Delhi, Punjab, Haryana in 2-3 days, says IMD

New Delhi, June 29: The southwest monsoon is likely to hit the national capital in the next two-three days as it picks up pace and advances further to parts of northwest India, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.

A deep depression in the Arabian Sea off the Gujarat coast had affected the pace of the southwest monsoon and taken away a lot of moisture.

“But the depression will not have a long-term impact on the monsoon. Even Gujarat has started receiving good rains now. Over the next two-three days, the monsoon will again spread to parts of northwest India. This include Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and a large part of Rajasthan. The progress of monsoon will be speedy now,” director-general of India Meteorological Department (IMD) Laxman Singh Rathore said.

So, the monsoon is expected to arrive in the national capital in the next two-three days now. The normal date for monsoon to hit Delhi is June 29. The northern limit of the monsoon (NLM) now passes through Dwarka, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Sawai Madhopur, Gwalior, Lucknow, Pantnagar, Dehradun, Una and Jammu, the IMD said.

Meanwhile, the overall rainfall deficiency in the country has reduced to 13%. Deficiency in east and northwest India hovers around 26% while in central India it is around 23%.

However, the positive side is formation of a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal. This is expected to bring in more rains along the easter n coast.

The IMD has also forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in several parts of the country.

“Heavy rain very likely at isolated places over MP, Odisha, CAP, Telangana, north and south interior Karnataka and Andaman & Nicobar Islands during the next 24 hours. Heavy to very heavy rain very likely at isolated places over Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Konkan & Goa, Coastal Karnataka and Kerala during next 24 hours,” the IMD tweeted. PTI

The overall rainfall deficiency in the country has reduced to 13%. Deficiency in east and northwest India hovers around 26% while in central India it is around 23%