New Delhi, June 20 — The southwest monsoon has reached northwestern India right on time, advancing into most parts of Uttarakhand, many areas of Himachal Pradesh, and parts of Ladakh, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.
According to the IMD, conditions are favourable for the monsoon to spread over the remaining regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi within the next two days.
The monsoon’s northern limit now stretches through Barmer, Jaipur, Agra, Rampur, Dehradun, Shimla, Manali, and Nyoma in Ladakh, as per the IMD bulletin issued on June 20. Rainfall activity is expected to intensify over northwest India beginning June 22.
This year’s onset aligns with forecasts made earlier this month. In 2023, the monsoon entered Himachal Pradesh on June 25, while the earliest onset in recent memory was June 9, 2000. The most delayed entry occurred on July 5, 2010.
From June 20 to 26, isolated heavy rainfall is likely across Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, and Chandigarh. Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are expected to receive heavy rain between June 21–22 and again from June 25–26.
The IMD has also forecast very heavy rainfall over southern Haryana on June 22 and over Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand from June 22 to 26. Light to moderate showers, along with thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds, are predicted across the region during the same period.
Punjab and Haryana — which have already witnessed intermittent pre-monsoon showers — are expected to see full monsoon coverage between June 30 and July 5.
The current surge in monsoon activity is influenced by several active weather systems. These include an upper air cyclonic circulation over northeast Rajasthan extending up to 5.8 km above sea level and two troughs: one running from northwest Uttar Pradesh to north Gujarat, and another extending east-west from northwest Rajasthan to Meghalaya.
In the last 24 hours, parts of Punjab and Haryana received light rain, which led to a noticeable drop in daytime temperatures — up to 6.5°C below normal in parts of Haryana and around 3°C below normal in some areas of Punjab. The IMD expects maximum temperatures to fall further by 3-4°C across both states over the next four days.
