New Delhi:
A day ahead of its scheduled arrival, monsoon 2018 on Thursday reached the national capital and its surrounding areas, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Earlier, the IMD had predicted June 29 as normal onset date for monsoon in Delhi-NCR.
Apart from Delhi, the monsoon also covered Haryana, Punjab and east Rajasthan. In next 2-3 days, it would most likely cover the entire country.
"Southwest Monsoon has further advanced into some more parts of Gujarat region, most parts of east Rajasthan, some parts of West Rajasthan, entire Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, remaining parts of west Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab," the IMD stated.
Usually, monsoon reaches Rajasthan’s Ganganagar – its last outpost – by July 15.
"Conditions are favourable for further advance of Southwest Monsoon into remaining parts of north Arabian Sea, Gujarat, Rajasthan and thus the entire country during the next 2-3 days," the weather office added.
This year, the monsoon reached Kerala on May 28, three days ahead of its normal onset date. It battered the western coast in the first half of the month.
(With inputs from agencies)
