Monsoon enters Maharashtra from Vidarbha: Met Department

PUNE: Finally, monsoon has entered the parched state of Maharashtra, but from Vidarbha in the East instead of its normal entry from the western side.

There has been a hiatus in the progress of the western branch of the monsoon from last 8 days. The western branch has not moved northward since June 8, the Konkan and Goa on the western coasts have been getting good pre-monsoon showers. The normal date for the monsoon to cover most of Maharashtra is June 10.

However, the met department has forecast that the conditions are favourable for further advance of monsoon into entire Konkan, Goa and Marathwada, remaining parts of north interior Karnataka, Telangana, Vidarbha, Jharkand, Chhattisgarh, some parts of East Madhya Pradesh and some more parts of Bihar in next 48 hours, stated an IMD update on monsoon.

Most parts of Madhya Pradesh too are likely to get rainfall during next 4 days. However, the met officials say that there is no certainty about the spacial continuity of rainfall in Madhya Pradesh, which will decide the official announcement of onset of monsoon in the state.

This year, the progress of the eastern branch of monsoon has been better than the western branch. Factors in the Pacific ocean have proved favourable for the eastern branch. However, the subsidence of dry continental air, which normally retreats by May, has been giving resistance to the progress of the western branch.

Meteorologists are confident of monsoon getting back to its normal rhythm by July, which may give rainfall at normal regular intervals.