 "Southwest monsoon advances over central, western India")
The rains advanced into central Maharashtra, Marathwada, Telangana and coastal Andhra Pradesh and are expected to march steadily towards the east coast of India around sub-Himalayan West Bengal and northeastern states such as Sikkim in the next two or three days.
According to the official, rains have been active over north interior Karnataka, coastal parts of Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala in the last 24 hours and their intensity is expected to increase in the coming days.
The southwest monsoon, which is vital for Indian agriculture, showed its first glimpse in many parts of Bihar, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh as well in the last 24 hours, with areas like Ahmedabad in Gujarat and Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh receiving the first pre-monsoon showers. The southwest monsoon arrived over Kerala around June 1, almost two days ahead of its expected arrival date and has been moving upwards in a smooth manner. (SHOWER ON INDIA)
The IMD official said rains in the first week of the southwest monsoon could be 15-20 per cent more than average. He said though official figures would come in the next few-days, rains till June 5 had been heavy and rather uniform in the southern regions. Rains in this period were almost 28 per cent above normal, he said.
Apprehension has been expressed in some quarters that the intensity of rainfall in July and towards the end of June might go down because of a negative Indian Ocean Dipole. However, its effect could be contained by a weak La Nina weather phenomenon. A negative Indian Ocean Dipole leads to low rainfall over India and so does La Nina, but this year, one weather factor is strong, while the other is weak.
July receives around 28 cm or 31 per cent of the total rainfall received during the June to September season.
Experts said a below par monsoon could do some serious damage to kharif crops, as the bulk of the sowing takes place during these two months.