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Rain may set over Maharashtra, Andhra in 2-3 days

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Newswire18 New Delhi

After a modest revival following a week-long lull, the southwest monsoon is set to advance over parts of Konkan, Goa and central Maharashtra as well as some more parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the next two to three days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said in its latest update.

However, the northern limit of southwest monsoon has made little progress since Monday. It currently covers Kerala and the Andhra coast.

The four southern states—Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Karnataka—have not witnessed any significant rainfall over the last 24 hours, the IMD data showed.

The progress of the crucial monsoon current, which had hit Kerala a day ahead of schedule on May 31, was stalled last week due to the formation of super-cyclone Phet over the Arabian Sea.

 

The IMD said it saw possibility of an upper air cyclonic circulation forming, “over east-central and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal in the next 48 hours”.

Weather department officials had earlier hinted that the progress of monsoon would gather pace June 8 onwards, as a new system would develop over the Bay of Bengal and help push monsoon currents into the peninsula.

The June-September monsoon rains usually cover the entire India by Jun 30. There is a possibility of isolated heavy rains over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh in the next 24 hours, while widespread rainfall over the northeast is likely in the next 48 hours. Early rains in these regions would boost kharif sowing of paddy and oilseeds in these regions. Sowing of paddy—the main kharif season crop—is so far up six per cent on year at 623,000 ha.

IMD said widespread rains were expected over Kerala, coastal and south interior Karanataka, northern West Bengal and Sikkim, while a low-pressure area was likely to lead to isolated rains in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi in the next 24 hours. Anticipating timely and “normal” rains, paddy and pulses acreage so far in this kharif season is up six per cent and 19 per cent , respectively, from the same period last year.

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First Published: Jun 09 2010 | 12:08 AM IST

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