The Indian Meteorological Department mentioned that there is a possibility of substantial rainfall, especially in the hilly regions and reservoir catchment areas, across certain parts of the state in the upcoming week. This forecast comes as the monsoon is anticipated to regain strength over Maharashtra after June 19-20.
Medha Khole, who leads the weather forecasting department at IMD in Pune, mentioned that the weakening of an anticyclone responsible for suppressing the monsoon would allow the westerly winds to intensify, leading to increased rainfall activity.
Khole said, “For the ghat areas and dam catchments, we may see a rise in rainfall after around June 21-22. At present, monsoon conditions are weak. During the next four to five days, we expect some advance into more parts of Maharashtra, south Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, and Bihar.”
She added, “At about 3 km above mean sea level, there’s a strong anticyclone over central India prohibiting the advance of the monsoon. This anticyclone may dissipate after two to three days and, thereafter, cause further advance. Cross-equatorial winds may also strengthen, which will bring more rainfall. So, we expect fairly widespread rains in parts of the state post-June 19-20. The intensity of rain will increase along the west coast.”
The monsoon has stalled over northeast and east India for the past three days since May 31 due to a weak Bengal branch.
The IMD’s forecast brings relief to the state after a slow start to the monsoon. The agriculture department advises farmers to wait for 70-100 mm rainfall before resuming kharif sowing. Currently, about 5% of the area has been sown.
An agriculture department informed, “Maharashtra received good rainfall a few days ago, due to which farmers started kharif sowing. Nearly 6.68 lakh hectare area has been sown so far. Last few days, rainfall has reduced, and several places have not received any rainfall. We have advised farmers to refrain from further sowing till a good spell of rain occurs.”
Weather expert from ‘Vagaries of Weather’ forecasts no significant rainfall in dam and ghat areas until June 22, with Pune expecting scattered short-duration rain on Sunday and Monday.