The monsoon has finally covered most of India. Small regions of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir in the north, which are still dry, will experience showers in a week, weather officials said.
The monsoon, on which Indian agriculture and economy are heavily dependent, was delayed by around 10 days this year in the south. However, it advanced well and reached New Delhi and adjoining areas in the north around the expected date of June 26.
Last month, two government weather forecasting departments had given contradictory reports about the delay in rains giving rise to dire speculations about the economy.
However, the current monsoon activity has brought cheer across the country. With weather officials predicting good rains across India, farmers and traders are heaving a huge sigh of relief.
The weather bulletin released by the IMD on Monday said the south-west monsoon further advanced into most parts of the Arabian Sea, Gujarat, west Madhya Pradesh, most parts of east Rajasthan, west Uttar Pradesh, parts of Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
The report says the northern limit of monsoon has passed through Ajmer and Jaipur in Rajsathan, Delhi, Patiala in Punjab and Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh.
There is an increased southwest monsoon activity over Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
There is likely to be good rain in the eastern and central parts of the country and will later extend towards the central, northern and western India.
The weatherman has forecasted rain and thunderstorms across India in the next two days. Coastal Orissa, north Konkan and south Gujarat may get heavy rainfall.
