Monsoon likely to enter Maharashtra in 2–3 days: IMD
According to the weather department, a depression over the east-central Arabian Sea adjoining the south Konkan coast began crossing between Ratnagiri and Dapoli on Friday
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday forecast an expected early entry of monsoon into Maharashtra, likely in the next two-three–days, nearly 10 days ahead of the usual June 7 onset. The department has declared the onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala on May 24 — eight days ahead of its normal date of June 1.
According to the weather department, a depression over the east-central Arabian Sea adjoining the south Konkan coast began crossing between Ratnagiri and Dapoli on Friday. The system, combined with moisture incursion from both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, is expected to bring widespread rain across Maharashtra over the next two days. The IMD has issued heavy to isolated intense rainfall alerts for parts of Konkan and southern and central Maharashtra over the next 48 hours.
As per the IMD forecast, conditions are favourable for further advancement of the southwest monsoon into more areas of the central Arabian Sea, Goa, parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, additional parts of Karnataka, and remaining parts of Tamil Nadu over the next 2–3 days.
With this, Maharashtra is likely to witness a record-breaking early onset of monsoon. When asked about the historical data on onset dates, an IMD official said, “We are compiling comparative data on past monsoon onset dates in Maharashtra and will share the details soon.”
Speaking about the weather conditions in Pune, SD Sanap, senior meteorologist at IMD Pune, said, “The city is likely to experience the impact of the current system for the next 48 hours. Rainfall activity is expected to reduce from May 27 onwards. Therefore, a yellow alert has been issued for Pune till May 27, and no alert has been issued for May 28.”
On Saturday, Pune experienced light to moderate rainfall across the city. According to official IMD data, Shivajinagar recorded 2.7mm rainfall till 5.30pm. In other areas, Hadapsar recorded 10.5mm, Wadgaonsheri 8.5mm, and Pashan 7.6mm rainfall.
Meanwhile, the coastal regions of Maharashtra witnessed significant rainfall activity on May 24 as the depression near the south Konkan coast moved slowly eastwards, close to Ratnagiri. Satellite observations indicated that the depression had begun crossing the coast. After landfall, it is expected to continue moving eastward across Madhya Maharashtra and gradually weaken into a well-marked low-pressure area over the next 24 hours. As a result, rainfall alerts have been issued for several districts across the state.
Specifically, an orange alert has been issued for coastal Maharashtra till May 28. A yellow alert is in place for central Maharashtra, including Pune, Marathwada, and Vidarbha, until May 27. No alert has been issued for central Maharashtra on May 28. However, yellow and orange alerts remain for Konkan, Vidarbha, and Marathwada, indicating the possibility of heavy rainfall in isolated areas.
IMD release states: “Southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala today, May 24, against the normal date of June 1. Thus, the southwest monsoon has arrived over Kerala eight days early. This is the earliest onset over Kerala since 2009, when the monsoon had arrived on May 23.”
After the onset in Kerala, the monsoon has further advanced into the entire Lakshadweep region, Kerala, Mahe, parts of Karnataka, remaining parts of the Maldives and Comorin area, large parts of Tamil Nadu, and much of the southwest and east-central Bay of Bengal, west-central and north Bay of Bengal, and parts of Mizoram.
