Monsoon enters Punjab, Haryana

The southwest monsoon further advanced into Punjab and Haryana today, bringing widespread rains in the two states and causing mercury to drop by a few notches.

"The southwest monsoon has further advanced into entire Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, remaining parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh on June 28," Director of the Meteorological Department, Chandigarh, Surinder Paul said.

He said widespread rainfall activity was observed over northwest India with heavy rainfall at isolated places.

Paul said moderate to heavy rains also lashed most places in Haryana and Punjab, including Chandigarh, today.

"More rainfall is likely over many parts of Punjab and Haryana during the next two-three days. Heavy rainfall is also likely at isolated places during next two days," he said.

Notably, last year, the monsoon's arrival in Punjab and Haryana had been delayed by over a week and it was only around July 12 that it had fully covered all parts of the two states.

This year, however, it arrived a day before of its scheduled arrival in the two states.

The maximum temperature continued to hover a few notches below normal for the second day today, settling in the range of 29-35 degrees Celsius.

While residents got relief from the hot and humid conditions, rains also brought cheers for paddy farmers as it is highly beneficial for the ongoing paddy transplantation.

The MeT department here yesterday had issued heavy to very heavy rain warning for isolated places in Haryana and Punjab for June 28-29.

Haryana's Revenue and Disaster Management Department had also issued an alert in view of the MeT department's heavy rain warning, and further said that the intensity of rainfall would be more in district Kaithal, Karnal, Jind Panipat, Hisar, Fatehabad, Yamunanagar and Ambala with one or two spell of heavy rainfall.