The southwest monsoon has covered the entire country six days ahead of the normal date despite making sluggish progress during mid-June, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday.
“The southwest monsoon has further advanced into the remaining parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab today. Thus, it covered the entire country on July 2, 2024, against the normal date of July 8,” the IMD said in a statement.
The monsoon arrived in Kerala and the northeastern region on May 30, two and six days earlier than usual.
It progressed normally up to Maharashtra but lost momentum in between, extending the wait for rains in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, and worsening the impact of a scorching heat wave in northwest India.
The country recorded 16 days of below-normal rainfall activity from June 11 to June 27, leading to overall below-normal precipitation in June, with 147.2 mm of rainfall against a normal of 165.3 mm for the month, the seventh lowest since 2001.