Monsoon likely reach city in 72 hours: IMD

Explaining the delay in the monsoon’s onset, Anupam Kashyapi, the head of the weather forecasting department at IMD Pune, stated that the progress of the monsoon has been slow this year, compounded by the formation of the cyclonic storm Biparjoy, which has caused a depletion in moisture

Mumbai: The southwest monsoon is likely to arrive in Mumbai within the next 72 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced. The monsoon had entered Maharashtra on June 11, one day after its usual onset date of June 10.

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Explaining the delay in the monsoon’s onset, Anupam Kashyapi, the head of the weather forecasting department at IMD Pune, stated that the progress of the monsoon has been slow this year, compounded by the formation of the cyclonic storm Biparjoy, which has caused a depletion in moisture.

“The monsoon typically reaches Kerala by June 1, this year it arrived on June 8. It had progressed as far as Goa and Ratnagiri before being hindered by the cyclonic storm. Consequently, there has been limited advancement of the monsoon from June 11 to 18,” he said.

Although the monsoon reached Ratnagiri last week, it has remained stalled in the region for nearly a week due to weak westerly and south-westerly winds. Under favorable conditions, it normally takes around 48 hours for the monsoon to reach Mumbai from Ratnagiri.

Kashyapi added that over the next 72 hours, there will be an increase in monsoon activity along the Arabian Sea coast. He predicted active monsoon currents in Mumbai, Pune, South Central parts of Maharashtra, Konkan, Marathwada, and other regions. The IMD expects further progress of the monsoon to commence from June 23 onwards.

While intermittent spells of rain are occurring, they can be attributed to an inward-moving cyclone that is bringing some moisture. However, the lack of clouds in the interior parts of Maharashtra indicates a scarcity of rainfall in those areas. Consequently, the current rain spells in the North Konkan coastal region are not indicative of significant monsoon advancement.