Monsoon Update on July 2: Entire country covered, six days in advance

"Southwest Monsoon has covered entire country today, the 02nd July 2022," tweeted, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on July 2.

"Southwest monsoon has covered the entire country on Saturday, six days before the normal date of July 8," the weather office said.

The southwest monsoon onset started over Kerala on May 29, three days ahead of the normal date of June 1. The progress of the vital summer rain that irrigates half of India’s farmland, however, has been sluggish with the country reporting a rainfall deficit of eight percent.

Weather scientists expect the monsoon to pick up pace in the coming weeks and have predicted a well-distributed rainfall in July. The country is likely to receive between 94 and 106 percent of the long-term average of monsoon rainfall in July, IMD said on July 1