Monsoon advances after missing early date: When will rain hit north India?
India's long-awaited monsoon may have stumbled, but it hasn't stopped. The rain-bearing system is now gathering strength over surrounding seas and is back on track.
India’s southwest monsoon is continuing its gradual advance over the surrounding seas of southern India, despite missing its anticipated early onset over Kerala this year.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon has further progressed into parts of the Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep region, Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, indicating that the seasonal rain-bearing system is steadily gathering steam after a brief slowdown.
According to IMD’s latest update issued on Wednesday, May 27, favourable atmospheric and oceanic conditions are likely to help the monsoon advance further over the next 2–3 days into more parts of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
The weather agency said that the monsoon system is currently stretching from the southwest Arabian Sea across the Bay of Bengal up to Myanmar. What that means is that the weather system is gradually organising itself over the Indian Ocean region after the recent delay.
WHY IS INDIA'S MONSOON DELAYED?
The IMD had earlier forecast that the monsoon would hit Kerala around May 26, nearly five days ahead of its normal June 1 onset date. However, the onset did not take place as expected due to temporary weakening in monsoon winds and lack of sustained rainfall activity near the Kerala coast.
The weakening of the monsoon winds was caused by a cyclonic formation over the Bay of Bengal that weakened the system and delayed its onset.
Despite that, meteorologists say the current slowdown is not yet a major concern.
The latest IMD map tracking the advance of the monsoon shows that it has already covered large parts of the southern Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, and is now moving northwestward. The relentless progress of the monsoon system is also being encouraged by favourable atmospheric conditions.
The IMD also highlighted that the current advance is still broadly close to the normal monsoon pathway, though slightly behind the early forecast issued this month.
WHEN WILL MONSOON ARRIVE IN NORTH INDIA?
For residents of northern India battling intense heat and warm nights, the question on everyone's mind is singular and well-founded; when will it rain?
At present, there is no official indication from IMD that the region will see a major delay in monsoon arrival, even though the Kerala onset has seen a brief delay.
Historically, the southwest monsoon reaches Delhi around June 27, with the latest progress update putting the arrival some day between June 25-30.
Weather experts say that the monsoon’s movement across India can sometimes accelerate rapidly after the initial onset phase. Unless the slowdown continues well into early June, Delhi’s monsoon timeline may remain close to normal.
Before the monsoon reaches north India, Delhi is likely to witness pre-monsoon thunderstorms, gusty winds and scattered rain spells over the coming days. These are conditions that could bring temporary respite from the ongoing heatwave, but not the sustained rainfall associated with the full monsoon season.
Considering the extremely hot conditions in Delhi-NCR, residents will be more than happy with even a preview of the monsoon that is slowly but steadily marching towards the capital.
India’s southwest monsoon is continuing its gradual advance over the surrounding seas of southern India, despite missing its anticipated early onset over Kerala this year.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon has further progressed into parts of the Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep region, Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, indicating that the seasonal rain-bearing system is steadily gathering steam after a brief slowdown.
According to IMD’s latest update issued on Wednesday, May 27, favourable atmospheric and oceanic conditions are likely to help the monsoon advance further over the next 2–3 days into more parts of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
The weather agency said that the monsoon system is currently stretching from the southwest Arabian Sea across the Bay of Bengal up to Myanmar. What that means is that the weather system is gradually organising itself over the Indian Ocean region after the recent delay.
WHY IS INDIA'S MONSOON DELAYED?
The IMD had earlier forecast that the monsoon would hit Kerala around May 26, nearly five days ahead of its normal June 1 onset date. However, the onset did not take place as expected due to temporary weakening in monsoon winds and lack of sustained rainfall activity near the Kerala coast.
The weakening of the monsoon winds was caused by a cyclonic formation over the Bay of Bengal that weakened the system and delayed its onset.
Despite that, meteorologists say the current slowdown is not yet a major concern.
The latest IMD map tracking the advance of the monsoon shows that it has already covered large parts of the southern Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, and is now moving northwestward. The relentless progress of the monsoon system is also being encouraged by favourable atmospheric conditions.
The IMD also highlighted that the current advance is still broadly close to the normal monsoon pathway, though slightly behind the early forecast issued this month.
WHEN WILL MONSOON ARRIVE IN NORTH INDIA?
For residents of northern India battling intense heat and warm nights, the question on everyone's mind is singular and well-founded; when will it rain?
At present, there is no official indication from IMD that the region will see a major delay in monsoon arrival, even though the Kerala onset has seen a brief delay.
Historically, the southwest monsoon reaches Delhi around June 27, with the latest progress update putting the arrival some day between June 25-30.
Weather experts say that the monsoon’s movement across India can sometimes accelerate rapidly after the initial onset phase. Unless the slowdown continues well into early June, Delhi’s monsoon timeline may remain close to normal.
Before the monsoon reaches north India, Delhi is likely to witness pre-monsoon thunderstorms, gusty winds and scattered rain spells over the coming days. These are conditions that could bring temporary respite from the ongoing heatwave, but not the sustained rainfall associated with the full monsoon season.
Considering the extremely hot conditions in Delhi-NCR, residents will be more than happy with even a preview of the monsoon that is slowly but steadily marching towards the capital.
