Monsoon to reach Mumbai in two days: IMD

As heavy rainfall drenched several Indian states on June 24, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) declared that monsoons had finally hit almost half the country and would reach the central and western parts of the country this week.

The met department also predicted that in Mumbai monsoons would set in within the next 48 hours. As per reports, the IMD maintains that a minimum of 2.5 mm rainfall must be recorded from an area over a span of 24 hours to declare that monsoon has reached there.

Had the onset of monsoons not been officially declared by the IMD on June 24, this year would have recorded the most delayed arrival of rains in the past 45 years. The last time monsoons had arrived this late (on June 28) was in 1974, reported The Indian Express. A decade ago, monsoons reached Mumbai on June 24, which was considered late too.

Adding that south-west monsoon had already arrived in 90 per cent of Maharashtra, the Met department said it would cover the rest of the state in the next four to five days. The areas where monsoon is yet to reach include Mumbai, the northern part of Konkan region, and the extreme north of central Maharashtra.

Parts of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh recorded heavy rainfall on June 24 while there was light rainfall in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan. However, monsoons won’t hit the national capital until June 29, reported ANI. Meanwhile, the IMD has issued a warning for a thunderstorm in Himachal Pradesh.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall can be expected in pockets of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Assam, Manipur, Tripura, West Bengal, and Arunachal Pradesh also.

Monsoon officially starts from June 1 and ends on September 30, in India. This year, the progression of monsoon remained relatively slow, with 84 per cent of meteorological subdivisions recording a deficit of rainfall, reported Firstpost.