The southwest monsoon on Sunday advanced into the remaining parts of Rajasthan,Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and the whole of Haryana,Chandigarh,Delhi and Punjab.It has now covered the entire country, Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) officials told TOI.
The previous fastest progress of the monsoon was in 1961,when it covered the country on June 21.This years progress could be the fastest ever,but confirming it now is not possible.We are cross-checking data and will be able to tell by Monday if it the fastest advance ever, the officials said.
The monsoon began its journey early from the Andamans this year.While the usual date for the arrival of the monsoon over the Andaman Sea is May 20,it arrived there three days earlier mainly due to a combination of factors,including the cyclonic storm Mahasen that had hit the Bangladesh coast two days before that.
The monsoon hit Kerala on time June 1.It made rapid progress towards Maharashtra,arriving in Satara on June 4,in Pune on June 8,a day behind schedule,and Mumbai two days before the normal arrival date of June 10.While the normal date for the monsoon to cover the entire state is June 15,it did so this time on June 10 itself.
The monsoon hit Delhi on Sunday,nearly 13 days before the normal June 29 arrival.
City gets months quota in 16 days
Sundays showers took the rainfall in June past its normal quota in just 16 days.The city has so far received 174.8 mm this month,as against the normal rainfall of 137.7 mm.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast similar intermittent showers across the city on Monday.
Source : The Times Of India, 17 June 2013.
