The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday blamed the adverse weather systems for sudden hiatus in the advancement of the southwest monsoon through peninsular India.
IMD forecasts and maps have shown the northern limit of monsoon (NLM) to be stagnant over the past four days, with the NLM passing through Karwar in coastal Karnataka and Ongole in Andhra Pradesh. As per the forecast, showers from the southwest monsoon have weakened over the past 48 hours, although parts of Goa and coastal Maharashtra have received widespread rainfall. “Ratnagiri recorded more than 100mm of rainfall over the past 24 hours and so did most of Goa,“ it stated.
Met officials said such rainfall cannot be referred to as monsoon showers considering that “the Arabian Sea branch of the monsoon is weak“.
“The advance of the southwest monsoon through the east coast of India and bay of Bengal has been good. Over the next 24 to 48 hours, conditions are good for the monsoon to reach sub-Himalayan West Bengal and the north-eastern states. But due to certain weather systems, the advance of southwest monsoon over the Arabian Sea and western India has weakened,“ said Sunitha Devi, director, IMD Pune.
Private forecaster Skymet, however, said the IMD should mark the NLM further northwards from its current markings. “Goa and the Konkan coast have received widespread showers over the past 24 hours. So the NLM should be marked as passing through Ratnagiri presently . It is true that the monsoon in western India has fallen short of expectations. The weather system over the Arabian Sea has remained stagnant due to the divergence of winds which has created `a sinking motion’.Maharashtra will be covered by the monsoon by June 20,“ said GP Sharma of Skymet Weather Services.
Meanwhile, the IMD said monsoon will reach Pune only on Saturday . “Light and intermittent rainfall in the form of pre-monsoon showers is expected between Thursday and Friday . From June 20, the city is expected to receive heavy rainfall,“ an IMD official said.
Source : TOI
