Monsoon pushes deeper into India, extreme rain warning for west coast, northeast

New Delhi: Conditions are favorable for the advance of southwest monsoon over large parts of central and north India during the next three to four days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday.

The Meteorological Department also warned of intense rain activity along the west coast and the northeast, along with continued heat waves in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.

The IMD said the monsoon is expected to cover other areas of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, remaining parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand during the next three to four days, signaling a gradual expansion of seasonal rainfall across the country.

The Southwest Monsoon arrived in Kerala on June 4, three days after its usual onset date of June 1.

The monsoon is critical to India’s agriculture-dependent economy, accounting for nearly 70% of the country’s annual rainfall and supporting kharif sowing. A favorable season can boost rural demand, consumption and overall economic growth. With only 55% of India’s net sown area currently irrigated, much of the agricultural land remains dependent on rainfall, so any shortfall is a potential source of higher irrigation costs for farmers.

“The delayed and weak progress of this year’s southwest monsoon, partly caused by a strengthening El Niño, highlights the growing climate uncertainty facing Indian agriculture,” said Sanjiv Kanwar, managing director of Yara South Asia, a fertilizer company and wholly owned subsidiary of Norway’s Yara International ASA.

“With water scarcity affecting this critical planting season, it is increasingly clear that ensuring food security and farmer livelihoods will require a stronger focus on climate-resilient agriculture. Building resilience to these weather-related challenges requires a shift to precision agriculture and balanced crop nutrition.”

Meanwhile, the IMD has forecast widespread heavy to very heavy rainfall (7-20 cm) over West Coast, Northeast India and sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim during the week. “Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall likely over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya and Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura during June 26 to July 1,” the IMD said in a statement. It also predicted isolated extremely heavy rainfall over sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim during 27-29 June and over Assam and Meghalaya on 28 June.

Konkan and Goa are expected to witness widespread rains from June 26 to July 1, while Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada are likely to witness widespread rain activity on June 26. Thunderstorms are expected over Konkan and Goa and Madhya Maharashtra till June 29, while Marathwada may experience gusty winds of 50-60 kmph with gusts of up to 70 kmph on June 25.

Even as the monsoon advances, heat conditions remain a concern over parts of East Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand in the next 2-4 days. The IMD also warned of severe heat waves in isolated areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh during 26-27. June.