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🇮🇳 India /Environment & Climate

Monsoon inches forward after stalling, set to hit Mumbai in next 48 hours

From Hindustan Times · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicts the southwest monsoon will reach Mumbai within the next 48 hours, following a revival over Maharashtra.
  • Showers experienced in Mumbai on Monday were classified as pre-monsoon, not the official monsoon rains.
  • The monsoon's progress is gradual, with a low-pressure area expected to form later in the month, potentially delaying its intensity over northern regions.

Mumbai is expected to receive the official southwest monsoon within the next 48 hours, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). A revival of the monsoon over Maharashtra has created favorable conditions for its advance along the west coast and into central India.

The IMD clarified that the rainfall experienced in India's commercial capital on Monday was pre-monsoon shower activity, not the onset of the monsoon itself. While parts of Maharashtra have seen light monsoon showers, the country's overall rainfall deficit remains significant at 43% as of Monday.

The monsoon has seen a slight revival, particularly on the western side. We had forecast the same a few days ago, that it should pick up again around June 22 and 23. However, a low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal is still missing and should only develop towards the end of the month.

— OP SreejithScientist and head of the climate monitoring and prediction group at IMD, explaining the current status and expected progress of the monsoon.

Scientists note that the monsoon has seen a "slight revival" on the western side, aligning with earlier forecasts. However, the development of a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal is still pending, expected towards the end of the month. This suggests that the monsoon's progress will likely be gradual in the coming days, with a potential increase in intensity expected later in July.

We can only expect gradual progress in the coming days till the end of the month, when it should finally pick up intensity.

— OP SreejithScientist and head of the climate monitoring and prediction group at IMD, forecasting the monsoon's development.

Private forecaster Skymet echoed these observations, characterizing the current revival as brief. They also anticipate that the delay in the formation of a low-pressure system will postpone the monsoon's arrival in regions like Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, likely into the first week of July. Typically, the monsoon reaches Delhi around June 27.

The IMD's bulletin indicated that the southwest monsoon had advanced into more parts of the central Arabian Sea, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, and Bihar on June 22. Conditions are deemed favorable for further progress into remaining parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, and other central and eastern states over the next 48 hours. The monsoon's normal arrival in Mumbai is around June 11, but progress has been hampered by a lack of localized weather systems and the influence of El Nino conditions.

This delays progress into UP and Delhi. We may expect that only towards the first week of July.

— Mahesh PalawatVice-president at private forecaster Skymet, commenting on the delayed monsoon arrival in northern India.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hindustan Times. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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