Monsoon is set to reach Kerala within 24 hours as IMD warns of heavy rain and thunderstorms | Today’s news
NEW DELHI: The southwest monsoon is likely to reach Kerala in the next 24 hours, ushering in India’s crucial four-month rainy season, even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and temperature swings in several parts of the country in the coming days.
The normal onset date of the Southwest Monsoon over Kerala is 1 June.
The weather office said conditions are favorable for the monsoon to advance further into parts of the southwest and southeast Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep Islands, parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, other areas of the southwest, mid-west, east-central and northeast Bay of Bengal and remaining parts of the southeast Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours.
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According to the IMD, Kerala is likely to receive isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall of 7-20 cm in the next six to seven days. Isolated heavy rainfall is also forecast over Tamil Nadu and Karnataka during the same period.
The IMD has also warned of moderate to severe thunderstorms with gusty winds of 40-50 kmph over large parts of northwest, central and eastern India as well as southern peninsular India on several days this week.
Even as monsoon progresses, heat waves are expected to persist in isolated areas of Bihar during 5-9. June, in eastern Uttar Pradesh during 7–9 June and in western Uttar Pradesh during 8–9 June. Hot and humid conditions are also likely over parts of the Northeast, Odisha and sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim.
India remains heavily dependent on the southwest monsoon, which accounts for more than 70% of the country’s annual rainfall. Adequate rainfall supports the farm economy and increases rural demand. As only about 55% of India’s net sown area is currently irrigated, the remaining agricultural land continues to rely on rainfall.
Fluctuations in temperature
The Met Office expects maximum temperatures to remain fluctuating over most of the country in the coming week.
In northwest India, maximum temperatures are likely to drop by 2-4 degrees Celsius between June 4-6 and rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius during June 7-9. In eastern India, temperatures are expected to rise by 2-3 degrees Celsius by June 5 and remain mostly stable by June 9.
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Maharashtra is likely to experience a 2-3 degree Celsius drop in maximum temperatures by June 5, followed by little change over the next four days. Gujarat is also expected to see a drop of 2 to 3 degrees Celsius by June 5, before temperatures rise by a similar margin between June 6 to 9.
As of June 2, maximum temperatures ranged between 38 and 42 degrees Celsius across parts of central and adjoining eastern India, northern peninsular India, southwest Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch and interior Maharashtra, while elsewhere it remained below 38 degrees Celsius. Khammam in Telangana recorded the highest maximum temperature of 43 degrees Celsius.
Maximum temperatures on June 2 were well above normal — more than 5.1 degrees Celsius above average — at isolated places in Assam and Meghalaya, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh. Temperatures were noticeably above normal at many places in sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, by 3.1-5 degrees Celsius; at several places in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura and Jammu-Kashmir-Ladakh-Gilgit-Baltistan-Muzaffarabad; and in isolated places in Gangetic West Bengal, eastern Uttar Pradesh, eastern Madhya Pradesh, Konkan and Goa, and Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal.
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Night temperatures were also noticeably above normal in parts of Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar, West Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch, Uttar Pradesh, West Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Gangetic West Bengal, Mizoram, Nagaland, Assam and Meghalaya, while elsewhere they remained near normal or below normal.
As temperatures cool in some regions, energy demand has retreated from recent record highs.
Peak power consumption on Wednesday was 247.22 GW around 3:20 pm, much lower than the previous week’s 260 GW, according to data from the National Energy Portal. India’s expected peak demand this year is 271 GW, according to estimates by the Central Electricity Authority.
