Early Arrival of Southwest Monsoon Brings Relief to Gujarat

The southwest monsoon arrived early in Gujarat, passing through Navsari district. Normally arriving by June 15, the monsoon is expected to cause light to moderate rainfall and thunderstorms across all districts in the next two days. Rainfall of up to 40 mm was recorded in various areas.

The southwest monsoon made an early debut in Gujarat on Tuesday, with its northern limit extending through Navsari district in the southern region of the state, according to an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official.

Typically, the monsoon reaches Gujarat by June 15, noted Ramashray Yadav, IMD Ahmedabad scientist. 'All districts are projected to experience light to moderate rainfall and thunderstorms in the next two days,' he informed.

Over the past 24 hours, multiple districts experienced rainfall ranging from 1-40 mm in isolated locations, reported the Gandhinagar-based State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC). Specifically, Santrampur in Mahisagar district and Morva Hadaf in Panchmahal recorded the most significant rainfall at 40 mm and 27 mm, respectively.

The IMD forecast also predicts light thunderstorms with lightning, surface wind gusts of 30-40 kmph, and light rain in isolated areas across all districts. The IMD earlier indicated that India is likely to witness normal rainfall (92-108 percent of the long-term average of 166.9 mm) for June.