NEW DELHI: Despite the southwest monsoon advancing into more parts of India, widespread monsoon rainfall is likely to remain subdued for at least another week, with weather models indicating a prolonged lull before conditions begin improving around June 23.
Meteorologists say the monsoon has technically continued its advance across parts of central and eastern India, but the rain-bearing system remains unusually weak. Large-scale monsoon activity is expected to stay largely inactive between June 15 and June 21, extending the rainfall deficit that has already developed across many regions of the country.
Instead of widespread monsoon showers, much of the rainfall during the coming week is expected to come from localised thunderstorms, particularly over southern India.
The Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border region and the Eastern Ghats are likely to witness frequent thunderstorm activity, bringing pockets of moderate to heavy rain, lightning and gusty winds.
The subdued phase comes even as conditions remain favourable for the monsoon to advance further into additional parts of Maharashtra, the remaining areas of Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and parts of Chhattisgarh over the next four to five days.
It is worth mentioning that monsoon advancement and monsoon activity are not always the same. While the rain-bearing winds may continue pushing northward on the map, the atmospheric conditions needed for widespread rainfall remain weak at present.
