The southwest monsoon pushed into parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh on Saturday, the India Meteorological Department said, as the seasonal rains that supply the bulk of the country's water gathered pace after a delayed start. The advance also cleared the rest of Goa, covered most of Tamil Nadu, expanded deeper into Karnataka and reached northeastern states including Mizoram and Manipur.
The IMD said the northern limit of the monsoon now runs through Devgad on the Konkan coast, Koppal in Karnataka, Anantapuramu in Andhra Pradesh and Chennai in Tamil Nadu. Forecasters described the system as advancing smoothly, bringing widespread rain and gusty winds of 40 to 50 kilometers per hour to coastal Maharashtra and the western interior.
The monsoon formally arrived over Kerala on June 4, three days later than its normal June 1 onset. The brief delay had raised some concern among farmers who time the sowing of summer crops to the rains, though the rapid progress northward in the days since has eased fears of a sluggish season.
For the June-to-September season as a whole, the IMD has forecast below-normal rainfall, projecting that India will receive about 90% of its long-period average. That places 2026 in the "below normal" category, a level that can strain reservoirs and rain-fed agriculture if the shortfall is concentrated in key growing regions.
The monsoon is the lifeblood of the Indian economy, watering roughly half the country's farmland that lacks irrigation and replenishing the reservoirs that supply drinking water and hydropower. A well-distributed season can lift rural incomes and ease food prices, while erratic or deficient rains can do the opposite.
Looking ahead, the weather office expects the rains to spread into Telangana, central and eastern India in the coming days, with Delhi and the northern plains likely to be covered by late June. Authorities in several states issued advisories for heavy rain and strong winds as the system pressed inland.