The monsoon will remain moderate to strong over many parts of the country till September 11, according to an extended range forecast issued by India Met Department (IMD) on Friday.

Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls is likely over Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, East Rajasthan, Gujarat and Vidarbha during the ongoing week (August 29 to September 4).

Widespread rainfall with isolated heavy falls at isolated places (on some days) has been forecast along the West coast and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (on a few days) during the week.

 

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‘Low’s in action

It will be light to moderate scattered to fairly widespread over the rest of the country outside West Rajasthan, Rayalaseema and Tamil Nadu where light isolated to scattered rainfall may occur during most days.

The rain regime would be held together by a prevailing low-pressure area over Interior Odisha, though slightly weakened on Friday, and a successor developing over the North-East Bay of Bengal in the next three days.

Cumulatively, they would deliver above normal rainfall over East Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and the West Coast as well as Odisha, Lakshadweep and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

The week that follows (September 5 to 11) would see above normal rainfall along the hills of North-West India, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha, the West Coast, Odisha and the islands.

In this manner, the monsoon is expected to retain its normal-to-above-normal status into the second week of September, the last of the four monsoon months. It is also the month when it normally starts its return journey from West Rajasthan.

Not finished yet

According to the Climate Prediction Centre of the US National Weather Service, the Bay of Bengal is far from finished, and is likely to stay active for another 15 days, sending rain-driving ‘low’s into India’s hinterland.

North-West and West India, especially Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch, along with the desert State of Rajasthan, are expected to receive the bulk of the rain being produced during this period.

Central India, the Himalayan foothills (especially in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar) as well as parts of the East Coast stand to make gains during this period.

An IMD outlook for Saturday, the last day of August, suggested heavy to very heavy rainfall for the Andaman & Nicobar Islands while it would be heavy over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Uttar Pradesh, East Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Konkan, Goa, Telangana, Coastal Karnataka and Kerala.

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