Monsoon likely to reach Odisha, Jharkhand, parts of Bengal, Bihar by 15 June, says IMD

New Delhi: The Southwest Monsoon is likely to advance into Odisha, Jharkhand, parts of West Bengal and Bihar, the India Meteorological Department said on Saturday, hinting at its good progress in the next 10 days. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the southwest monsoon has further advanced into more parts of the central Arabian Sea, entire coastal Karnataka, Goa, some parts of Maharashtra, most parts north interior Karnataka, some parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, more parts of Tamil Nadu and the central Bay of Bengal, and some parts of northeast Bay of Bengal. However, a lull is expected in the rainfall activity on 7-8 June, Rajendra Jenamani of the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the IMD, said. But a low-pressure area is expected to form in the Bay of Bengal by 11 June. This will help in the progress of the monsoon and it is likely to advance into Odisha, Jharkhand, parts of West Bengal and Bihar, he said. The monsoon set over Kerala on 3 June, two days after its normal onset date. The IMD has also made a forecast of normal rainfall in June. It said no heatwave conditions are likely in the country over the next five days. The IMD said maximum temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius were recorded at many places over west Rajasthan and at isolated places over Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Saurashtra and Kutch in Gujarat and Odisha. The highest maximum temperature of 43.2 degrees Celsius was recorded at Banda in east Uttar Pradesh on Friday. No heatwave conditions are likely in the country over the next five days, the IMD said. Meanwhile, several parts of the country, including north India, are witnessing rainfall activity.