After a delay of nearly 12 days, the southwest monsoon has finally arrived in Uttar Pradesh.
The monsoon entered the state on June 30, bringing significant relief from the scorching heat. According to the Meteorological Department, it will spread across Uttar Pradesh in the next two to three days. Rain, thunderstorms, and strong winds are expected to continue in most parts of the state.
The Meteorological Department said that this time the monsoon was expected to arrive early, but due to a lack of favourable weather conditions, the system that activated in the Bay of Bengal remained stuck near the Bihar border for about two weeks. Now that conditions have become favourable, the monsoon has entered Uttar Pradesh.
With the arrival of the monsoon, temperatures in many cities across the state have dropped by 5 to 7 degrees Celsius.
On Thursday, Lucknow is expected to experience cloudy skies and thunderstorms. The maximum temperature is expected to be around 31 degrees Celsius and the minimum around 25 degrees Celsius.
The Meteorological Department has also issued an alert for lightning and strong winds of 40 to 50 kilometres per hour in many parts of the state.
According to the Meteorological Department, some districts in western Uttar Pradesh may receive heavy to very heavy rainfall. At the same time, heavy rain is also expected at many places in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
During the last 24 hours, Gonda received 49.8 mm of rainfall, Lakhimpur Kheri 47.3 mm, Ayodhya 34.5 mm, Ambedkar Nagar 30.1 mm, Shravasti and Sant Kabir Nagar 28.6 mm, Basti 20.9 mm, while in western Uttar Pradesh, Lalitpur recorded 33.6 mm and Bareilly 33.2 mm of rainfall.
However, meteorologists predict that due to the impact of El Niño, total monsoon rainfall in Uttar Pradesh during July and August may be slightly below normal.
Good rainfall is expected in most parts of the state in the first half of July, while monsoon activity may weaken somewhat in the second half.
It is estimated that July may see approximately 5 per cent less rainfall than normal, while August may see approximately 8 per cent less rainfall than normal.