Monsoon in Capital by June 15, 13 days ahead of schedule: Met

IMD OFFICIALS IN CHANDIGARH SAID MONSOON MAY HIT THE REGION IN A WEEK’S TIME

NEW DELHI: The south-west monsoon is set to reach Delhi and most of north-west India by June 15, almost a fortnight ahead of schedule, due to a low pressure system building up over the Bay of Bengal, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.

IMD officials in Chandigarh said monsoon may arrive in the region in a week’s time, while pre-monsoon showers are likely on Saturday and Sunday. Last year, the season’s onset for Chandigarh was June 26.

The monsoon usually arrives in Delhi by June 27-28, and Kuldeep Srivastava, the head of IMD’S regional weather forecasting centre, said it was set to advance swiftly this year due to weather conditions in the northern Bay of Bengal.

As per IMD’S monsoon report, an east-west trough at lower tropospheric level is running from south Punjab to low pressure area over north-west Bay of Bengal. Strong south-westerly winds are also prevailing over the west coast due to which monsoon is likely to advance sooner. The weather pattern since August 2020 has thrown up a surprise and broken a historical record every single month -- either by being hotter, wetter, or colder than usual.