Southwest Monsoon Advances into Karnataka and Coastal Regions

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Monday the advancement of the southwest monsoon into parts of the central Arabian Sea and regions of Karnataka, Kerala, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and the Westcentral and Northwest Bay of Bengal.

C S Patil, head of the IMD Centre in Bengaluru, confirmed this progression and issued a yellow alert for several districts in Karnataka until June 5th. These include Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada in coastal Karnataka, along with Bagalkote, Belgavi, Dharwad, Gadag, Haveri, Koppal, and Vijayapura in north interior Karnataka.

The IMD predicts that the monsoon will continue to advance, potentially reaching the remaining parts of the central Arabian Sea, Karnataka, southern Maharashtra, Goa, Rayalaseema, Telangana, and coastal Andhra Pradesh. It is also expected to progress into parts of south Chhattisgarh, south Odisha, and further into the Westcentral and Northwest Bay of Bengal within the next 4-5 days.

The IMD posted on X: “Southwest Monsoon advanced into some more parts of central Arabian Sea, some more parts of Karnataka, Rayalaseema, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, some parts of Telangana and some more parts of Westcentral and Northwest Bay of Bengal, today the 3rd June.”

Conditions are favorable for further monsoon advancement into the remaining parts of south peninsular India, south Chhattisgarh, south Odisha, and additional areas of the Westcentral and Northwest Bay of Bengal in the coming days.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the IMD indicated that heatwave conditions were likely to affect most parts of the country on June 3rd, with isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, Jammu division, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha expected to be affected.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting to review the ongoing heatwave situation and the preparedness for the monsoon onset. The Prime Minister was briefed that heatwave conditions are likely to persist in parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh.

The Southwest Monsoon hit the Kerala coast and advanced into parts of northeast India on Thursday, two days earlier than the usual onset date of June 1. Kerala experienced widespread pre-monsoon rains this year.

In 2023, the country received 94% of its long-period average rainfall during the monsoon season (June-September).