The southwest monsoon, which arrived in Kerala three days later than its normal onset date, has entered Maharashtra on schedule, raising hopes that it could reach Delhi around its usual arrival time later this month.
The monsoon reached Kerala on June 4, days later than its normal onset date of June 1 and nearly a week behind the IMD’s earlier forecast of May 26. However, it progressed rapidly thereafter, covering large parts of the west coast up to Goa by June 5 before advancing into Maharashtra on June 6.
According to the IMD's monsoon tracking map, the monsoon is expected to enter Delhi and the National Capital Region sometime between June 25 and June 30. The same timeline is expected for surrounding areas such as Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad and other parts of northern India.
Following its arrival in Delhi, the monsoon is expected to advance further northwest into parts of Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Last year, the southwest monsoon reached Delhi on June 29, two days later than its normal onset date of June 27, based on the 1961-2019 average.
Delhi is expected to witness hot weather over the next seven days, with maximum temperatures ranging from 36 degrees Celsius to 41 degrees Celsius and minimum temperatures between 26 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius.
The weather department has forecast favourable conditions for further advancement of the monsoon over the next two to three days. It is expected to cover more parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, along with parts of Telangana, the remaining areas of Tamil Nadu, and additional regions over the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and northeastern India.
