Weather update: Monsoon nears Delhi, covers Bihar, East UP, MP; IMD warns of very heavy rain in multiple states

The southwest monsoon continued its rapid advance on Friday, covering the remaining parts of Bihar, East Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and most of Uttarakhand. With monsoon now pushing further north, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of intense rainfall across east and central India, including extremely heavy showers over the next few days.

According to IMD’s latest update, isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, and Gangetic West Bengal. Thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds (40–50 kmph) are also forecast across many regions.

In western India, Gujarat, Konkan & Goa, and Madhya Maharashtra will likely witness intensified rain activity between June 22 and 24, continuing through June 26.

The northwestern states—Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan—are also expected to receive isolated heavy rainfall from June 20 to 26. Very heavy rain is forecast over East Uttar Pradesh, East Rajasthan, and parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the coming days.

In Delhi, the weather will remain generally cloudy. The capital may experience very light to light rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds reaching up to 50 kmph during storm activity. IMD has indicated that the monsoon is likely to reach Delhi by June 24, ahead of its normal onset date of June 27.

Monsoon in the rest of India

Elsewhere, Assam and Meghalaya are set to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall today and tomorrow, along with East Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat region, Himachal Pradesh, Konkan & Goa, and parts of the northeast. Showers are also expected across Punjab, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Coastal Karnataka, Saurashtra & Kutch, and West Bengal.

Maharashtra, which saw very heavy rain on Thursday, leading to river levels breaching danger marks in several areas, will witness moderate to heavy rainfall today. No fresh weather warnings have been issued for the state, though isolated heavy rain is forecast for June 22.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu is likely to see hot and humid conditions continue, with minimal rainfall expected.

IMD says conditions remain favourable for the monsoon to advance into the North Arabian Sea, and more parts of Rajasthan, West Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir in the coming days.