North-West India likely to receive heavy rains till Sunday: IMD

The national capital and surrounding areas are likely to witness heavy rainfall till Sunday, the weather department said on Wednesday.

“Heavy to very heavy rainfall spell is likely over North-West and East India, and very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over North-East India during next four-five days,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement.

On Tuesday, the South-West monsoon, which arrived in Kerala two days earlier than usual on 30 May, covered the entire country six days ahead of the normal date of 8 July.

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It progressed normally up to Maharashtra but lost momentum, prolonging the wait for rains in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, which were reeling from a heatwave.

Monsoon progress

The country recorded 16 days of below-normal rainfall from 11 June to 27 June, registering overall below-normal rainfall at 147.2 mm in the month against a normal of 165.3 mm. This was the seventh lowest on record since 2001.

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June rainfall accounts for 15% of the total precipitation of 87 cm recorded during the country's four-month monsoon season.

The IMD on 1 July said India could experience above-normal rainfall in July, with heavy rains potentially leading to floods in the western Himalayan states and river basins in the central parts of the country.

The national rainfall deficiency is 5% since the beginning of the four-month (June-September) monsoon season.

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