Conditions favourable for advance of monsoon: IMD

New Delhi: India’s crucial monsoon appeared set to march ahead as weather conditions were favourable for advance of the seasonal rains into parts of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh over the next two days. The forecast of progress of monsoon, after a nearly two week hiatus, comes as a welcome relief to the northern region which has been reeling under intense heatwave conditions.[caption id=“attachment_364488” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Truant monsoon. Simantik Dowerah/Firstpost”]  [/caption] “Conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into remaining parts of Maharashtra and some more parts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh during next 48 hours,” the India Meteorological Department said in a forecast issued this evening. Monsoon rains have been 31 percent deficient so far and the weather office data showed 83 percent of the area of the country, including the granary states of Punjab and Haryana, receiving deficient or scanty rainfall till today. The country as a whole has received 124.5 mm rainfall as against the normal of 180.6 mm since the onset till 1 July. Maximum temperature would fall by two to four degrees Celsius over northwest, east and central India during next three days. Rainfall in June accounts for 18 percent of season’s total and the deficiency had been 29 percent till yesterday. In 2009, the June rains were 47.2 percent below a 50-year average called as the long period average. This year has seen a delayed onset of monsoon rains over Kerala and they have been making a sluggish progress drawing concerns from the farming community. The weather office, however, has only marginally downgraded the seasonal forecast keeping it within the normal range. PTI