North India: The weather in North India will change to become rainy this week as the much awaited Monsoon will make an entry in the capital city Delhi. Rain will begin to occur in Delhi and adjoining states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh from Monday onwards, lasting till 25th June. Till the time rain continues and clouding remains, maximums will be in check. Minimums will also drop and settle in the mid-twenties from 30⁰C last week. Temperatures may rise gradually though after rain subsides from 26th June. Till 25th June, Southwest Monsoon usually covers the hills of Uttarakhand but so far that hasn't happened. However, chances of Monsoon arriving in the hills this week are bright of. Here the maximum temperature will settle in the high-twenties.
East and Northeast India: Since a drop in temperature is invariably linked to rainfall and clouding, Northeast India will witness cool days with maximums settling in the low-thirties sometimes even below that. This will be due to the continuous good Monsoon showers being experienced here. After receiving about 700 mm of rain in three days, Cherrapunji will get some relief from the heavy downpour. Unlike in the Northeast, rain in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha will be light and scattered. While maximums in Bihar and Jharkhand will settle between 30⁰C and 32⁰C on an average, in Uttar Pradesh they will be slighter higher, between 37⁰C and 40⁰C.
Central India: With rain deficit of over 40% in Central India, the mercury has been climbing to record 41⁰C in many parts of Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. On a whole, the maximums in the entire region are seen recording between 36⁰C and 40⁰C. However, the Monsoon line this week is expected to advance and cover more parts of Madhya Pradesh. Rain could commence in the second half of the week in Madhya Pradesh, Marathwada and Vidarbha. This may bring only marginal changes in the temperatures here. Gujarat will continue to be the driest state in India as there aren't any Monsoon showers expected here this week. Lack of rain has pushed up the deficit in Gujarat to to 82%, the highest.
South India: Cloudy to overcast skies in South India will help keep the mercury low. Here rain may reduce from what it was last week but the maximums will still hover around 30⁰C. Nights too will be cool with minimums settling in the lower-twenties. As always, the east coast of South India will witness drier and hotter days with maximums hovering around 38⁰C. Some isolated pockets of interior Andhra Pradesh may even exceed 40⁰C. Rain is expected to increase in the interiors of South India but it will not be enough to cover up the deficit of over 30%. Rain will continue to be subdued in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai. High humidity will further add to the discomfort. Weather in South India on a whole, will be the coolest and the most pleasant despite less rain.
Photo by Ritika Acharya.