Monsoon covers entire country 6 days in advance

New Delhi: Southwest Monsoon has covered the entire country six days before the normal date, as parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat received their first seasonal rains on Friday. The Monsoon had set over Kerala on May 29, three days ahead of the normal date of June 1.

"Southwest monsoon has covered the entire country on Saturday, six days before the normal date of July 8," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday. Parts of western Rajasthan and north Gujarat, which were yet to receive monsoon rains, received their first showers on Friday. However, the country has recorded a rainfall deficit of five per cent as on Saturday.

According to the IMD, all states falling in the monsoon core zone, barring Rajasthan, have received deficient rains till now. The monsoon core zone comprises the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Odisha which are rain-fed agricultural regions.

Gujarat has received 37 per cent deficient rains than the long period average (LPA) till July 2, followed by Odisha (-34 per cent), Maharashtra (-25 per cent), Chhattisgarh (-25 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (-15 per cent). Rajasthan has received 33 per cent excess rains than the LPA.

According to the forecast for July issued by the IMD, the rainfall average for the country as a whole is most likely to be normal at 94 per cent to 106 per cent of the LPA for the month. The LPA for July, based on the rainfall data from 1971-2020, is about 280.4 mm.