Maintaining its pace, the southwest monsoon has advanced into the remaining parts of Rajasthan too, thus covering the entire country 10 days before the normal date.
Noting that the system was in good health, senior meteorologists of the India Meteorological Department said fairly widespread rain or thundershowers were likely to continue in the northwest region, comprising Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, east Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir over the next two days. Thereafter, the rain belt would move east, leading to more rainfall activity over west Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, the sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and the north-eastern States.
As for the rest of the country, widespread rain or thundershowers would occur in the Konkan and Goa region, and fairly widespread rain or thundershowers in Orissa, Gujarat, Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh, the coastal Karnataka and Kerala in the next three days.
Meanwhile, the rainfall has substantially improved in the northwest and central regions after the fresh surge that began on July 2.
Since July 3, the rainfall deficiency in the northwest has dipped to 16 per cent from 25 per cent, and in central India to 15 per cent from 18 per cent. The Delhi-Haryana-Chandigarh region, west Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have benefited the most. The deficiency in the Delhi-Haryana-Chandigarh region has come down from 55 per cent to a mere 8 per cent, and in west Uttar Pradesh from 76 to 50 per cent.
Situation grim ineast Uttar Pradesh
The situation, however, remains grim in east Uttar Pradesh, as the deficiency has marginally gone up from 69 to 71 per cent.
But it is expected to improve over the next few days with the rain belt moving eastward.
