Monsoon to hit Delhi on June 29 after week's delay
The southwest monsoon is likely to reach Delhi on June 29 after a week's delay, experts predicted. This will bring relief to locals, who've been reeling under a relentless heat wave, and to farmers, who have had to slow down sowing due to the delay. Meanwhile, as the north craved for rains, some parts in the northeast and south remained submerged under water.
Pre-monsoon thunderstorms to hit Delhi from June 27: Expert
According to BP Yadav of IMD's regional forecasting center in Delhi, "Heat wave conditions will persist for a few days (and) pre-monsoon thunderstorms will hit from June 27 onwards because of the incursion of moisture-carrying easterly winds." "Depending on parameters like wind speed and rainfall received monsoon onset will be declared. It is likely to arrive around its usual time: June 29," Yadav added.
Why was it delayed?
The monsoon had paused due to a weakening in the circulation pattern during June 13-21, and an active convection zone shifting over to the Pacific Ocean. This forced farmers to slow down sowing of Kharif crops, which accounts for roughly half of India's yearly production. By June 22, total area sown under Kharif stood at 11.5mn hectares, compared to last year's 12.8mn.
Progress of monsoon satisfactory since two-three days
The delay isn't a big issue now, provided monsoon picks up next week as expected, said Davish Jain, Chairman, Soyabean Processors Association of India. In the next two-three days, the southwest monsoon will advance over remaining parts of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Assam, Chhattisgarh, WB, Odisha, Jharkhand, MP and Bihar, IMD said. By July first week, it will cover north India.
As the north craved for rains, northeast submerged under water
In the meantime, heavy rains continued to lash parts of Kerala, Karnataka and the northeast. In the northeast, over 4L people have been affected. In the west, Goa and Konkan saw extreme rainfall this week.
