After 2-week hiatus, monsoon returns

New Delhi: The Southwest Monsoon has managed to end a two-week hiatus and resume progress on the West Coast, Peninsular India and East India, making a delayed entry into Veraval, Amreli and Ahmedabad in Gujarat on Sunday morning.

The alignment of the northern limit further connected Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh), Amravati and Gondia (Maharashtra), Titlagarh and Cuttack (Odisha) and Midnapore (Bengal) on Sunday noon.

Two major features signifying the growing strength of the monsoon is a full developed offshore trough that lies extended all the way from South Gujarat to Kerala, and the East-West shear zone.

Of the four meteorological divisions of the country, only the southern peninsula has recorded 29 per cent more rains. The rainfall deficit was 29 and 24 per cent in east-northeast and northwest India, respectively.

An India Meteorological Department (IMD) data revealed that less than 25 per cent of the country received normal or excess rains till now, with the weatherman today saying that monsoon activity has revived over the weekend and is making a steady advance.

Central India and the north Indian plains, that have been witnessing a rise in temperatures, are likely to get some relief in the next two to three days, the meteorological department said. Conditions are becoming favourable for pre-monsoon thunderstorm activity over parts of northwest India from June 27.

The monsoon is expected to hit Delhi on June 29, its normal onset date for the national capital. After making an early arrival on May 29, three days ahead of its normal on-set date, the Southwest Monsoon battered the coastal parts of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and south Gujarat. However, the overall monsoon deficiency till Saturday stood at minus 10 per cent. In the next 48 hours, the remaining parts of Odisha, West Bengal, some parts of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, remaining parts of Maharashtra, and east Uttar Pradesh will witness monsoon showers, the IMD said.