Shillong, June 25: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Sunday that the southwest monsoon has reached Delhi and Mumbai, marking a rare phenomenon. While it arrived in the national capital two days earlier than the scheduled date, its entry into Mumbai was delayed by two weeks.
After a sluggish start, the monsoon has made rapid progress, covering multiple regions across the country. These include parts of Maharashtra, the entirety of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, northeast India, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, most parts of Himachal Pradesh, and certain areas of Haryana, according to the weather office.
This year, the monsoon reached Kerala on June 8, a week later than its usual arrival date of June 1. Comparatively, it made its presence felt in the southern state on May 29 last year, June 3 in 2021, June 1 in 2020, June 8 in 2019, and May 29 in 2018.
Despite evolving El Nino conditions, the IMD previously predicted that India is likely to receive normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season.
Early on Sunday, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms lashed several parts of Delhi as the monsoon arrived in the national capital. Safdarjung, the city’s primary weather station, recorded 47.2 mm of rainfall by 5:30 am, while Palam in southwest Delhi received 22 mm of rainfall.
According to IMD data, the monsoon reached Delhi on June 30 last year, July 13 in 2021, June 25 in 2020, July 5 in 2019, and June 28 in 2018.
An orange alert has been issued for Sunday (June 25), with a yellow warning in place for June 26 and 27. The forecast for all three days includes generally cloudy skies and light to moderate rain/thundershowers.
