Heavy rainfall forecast as monsoon reaches N-E

Monsoon is likely to pick up further as a ‘monsoon low’ or a low pressure area is likely to form over north Bay of Bengal on June 11

Monsoon has advanced into most parts of central Arabian Sea, many parts of Maharashtra, the entire Karnataka, parts of Telangana, all of Tamil Nadu, parts of Andhra Pradesh, parts of central Bay of Bengal and northeast Bay of Bengal, all northeastern states (Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh), most parts of sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim on Sunday, 4-5 days in advance.

A man holds an umbrella as he rows a boat during rain after monsoon made a landfall in Kerala on Friday, June 4. (PTI)

“Monsoon is advancing very well. It has advanced to Sikkim and parts of Maharashtra 4 to 5 days in advance. The monsoon flow is strong and southwesterly winds have picked up on a large scale,” said RK Jenamani, senior scientist, national weather forecasting centre.

Monsoon is likely to pick up further as a ‘monsoon low’ or a low pressure area is likely to form over north Bay of Bengal on June 11.

“Under the influence of that monsoon low, we are expecting monsoon to be vigorous and cover most of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal — all of east India by June 13. We are now getting very early indications that monsoon will reach western parts of the country also earlier than expected,” added Jenamani.

Heavy rainfall is likely over Arunachal Pradesh on June 6 and 8; over Assam, Meghalaya, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim on June 8 and 9; over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura on June 6 and 7; over Odisha on June 8 and 9; over Gangetic West Bengal on June 10. Strong surface winds (25-35 kmph) are likely to prevail over plains of northwest India during June 8 to 10.