Southwest monsoon covers entire India earlier than usual; Delhi to see above normal rain, orange alert issued: IMD

The southwest monsoon has reached the whole country six days earlier than usual, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday, July 7.

"The southwest monsoon has further advanced into the remaining parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab today. Thus, it covered the entire country on 2nd July 2024, against the normal date of July 8 (six days before the normal date of covering the entire India)," the IMD said in a statement.

The monsoon came in Kerala and the northeastern area on May 30, two to six days earlier than typical.

It moved regularly up to Maharashtra before losing speed, lengthening the wait for rains in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, and exacerbating the effects of a sweltering heat wave in northwest India.

From June 11 to June 27, the country saw 16 days of below-normal rainfall activity, resulting in 147.2 mm of precipitation in June, the fifth lowest since 2001.

June rainfall contributes 15 per cent of the total 87 cm of precipitation recorded throughout the country's four-month monsoon season.

The IMD stated on Monday that India might have above-normal rainfall in July, with heavy rains potentially causing floods in the western Himalayan states and river basins in the country's center.

"On July 2, parts of south Gujarat and Saurashtra may receive very heavy rains at isolated places, while heavy rain would lash several parts of north Gujarat, central Gujarat, and Saurashtra region. On July 3, very heavy rains would occur in Surat, Navsari, Valsad, and in Daman and Dadra Nagar Haveli," the IMD said in a release.

Rain in Delhi

The meteorological service has issued an 'orange' alert for Delhi for the next two days, even though the city did not get any rain on Monday as predicted.

According to IMD, light rain fell in certain sections of the city early Tuesday, with moderate to heavy rainfall expected throughout the day. The orange alert indicates that authorities should be prepared for extreme weather conditions that might interrupt everyday life or endanger their lives.

Here is a seven-day Delhi weather forecast by IMD:

Skymet, a private weather forecasting firm, has also projected a rise in rain activity in the capital beginning on July 2.

"The past two days have seen some respite from the downpours in Delhi and NCR (National Capital Region). However, weather experts predict a resurgence in rain activity, likely intensified rainfall over Delhi starting from July 2," private weather-forecasting agency Skymet said in a post on X.

With agency inputs