Monsoon rains cover country 6 days early

After a slow start to the season, the southwest monsoon on Sunday covered the entire country six days ahead of schedule, advancing into the remaining parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

- Soumya Pillai

According to data from the Met department, this is only the third time in the last 24 years that monsoon has covered the entire country in the first week of July.

"The southwest monsoon has further advanced into remaining parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab today (Sunday). Thus, it has covered the entire country today, July 2, against the normal date of July 8-six days before the normal date of covering the entire India," IMD said.

Before this, monsoon covered all states on July 2 in 2001 and then again in 2022, and July 3 in 2001 and 2009, records maintained by IMD showed.

The earliest that monsoon covered the entire country was on June 16 in 2013.

Experts, meanwhile, said that rainfall is expected to pick up only after July 5.