Monsoon Advances Towards North India, Delhi May Get Rain Soon; IMD Issues Heavy Rain Alert Across States
The southwest monsoon is advancing rapidly over north India, as the IMD forecasts widespread rainfall across states | Ankita Kumari reports.
Published : June 26, 2026 at 12:39 PM IST
|Updated : June 26, 2026 at 12:52 PM IST
New Delhi: The southwest monsoon has regained momentum and is advancing rapidly towards northern India after a brief pause earlier this month, bringing widespread rainfall to several parts of the country.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), conditions remain favourable for the monsoon to advance further into Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, the remaining parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand over the next three to four days.
The IMD has forecast widespread rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds, across large parts of the country between June 26 and July 2.
Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over the west coast, Northeast India and sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim. Isolated spells of extremely heavy rainfall are likely over sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim between June 27 and June 29, while Assam and Meghalaya are expected to witness extremely heavy rainfall on June 28.
Delhi-NCR Awaits Monsoon
Residents of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) woke up to humid weather on Friday. While residents struggle with the humid weather, they are likely to get relief over the next few days as the southwest monsoon steadily approaches north India.
The IMD has forecast light to moderate rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning, cloudy skies and gusty winds across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh and adjoining areas over the coming week. Isolated heavy rainfall is likely over Delhi on June 29 and June 30, while rainfall activity is expected to intensify across northwest India.
The "feels-like" temperature in Delhi-NCR reached 44.1°C on Thursday evening, even though the actual maximum was 38.8°C. The maximum temperature is expected to remain between 39-41°C through the weekend, then drop to 35-37°C by July 1.
According to the latest forecast, Delhi's current temperature is around 35°C. The maximum temperature may touch 42°C, while the minimum is expected to remain around 35°C.
India Overall Weather
- Eastern India
Rainfall activity is expected to intensify across eastern India as the monsoon advances further. The IMD has forecast widespread rainfall over sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha during the next week.
Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall, with isolated extremely heavy rainfall between June 27 and June 29. Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha are also expected to witness heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and gusty winds, while Bihar may experience thundersqualls with wind speeds reaching 70 kmph on June 26 and June 28.
- Northeast India
The Northeast is expected to remain one of the wettest regions of the country through the week. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are likely to receive widespread rainfall until July 2.
Extremely heavy rainfall has been forecast over Assam and Meghalaya on June 28, while Arunachal Pradesh is likely to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall during the forecast period.
- Northwest India
Rainfall activity is expected to increase across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand over the next few days.
The IMD has forecast scattered to widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds across the region. Heavy rainfall is likely over Himachal Pradesh from June 30 to July 2, and over Uttarakhand from June 29 to July 2. East Rajasthan may witness thundersqualls with wind speeds reaching 70 kmph on June 26.
- Central India
Scattered to widespread rainfall is likely across Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh over the coming days.
Heavy rainfall is expected over Vidarbha and Chhattisgarh on June 27 and June 28, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of up to 60 kmph. West Madhya Pradesh may also experience thundersqualls with wind speeds reaching 70 kmph on June 26.
- Western & Southern India
The West coast is likely to remain among the wettest regions of the country. Konkan and Goa are expected to receive widespread rainfall through July 2, while heavy rainfall is likely over Konkan, Goa and Madhya Maharashtra.
Across southern India, Kerala, Coastal Karnataka, Telangana, Interior Karnataka, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Lakshadweep are expected to witness active monsoon conditions. Heavy rainfall is likely over Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Coastal Andhra Pradesh during the coming days, while strong surface winds are expected over Karnataka.
The IMD has also advised fishermen not to venture into parts of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal due to squally weather and strong winds.
Heatwave Continues
Despite the advancing monsoon, heatwave conditions have not disappeared completely.
The IMD has forecast heatwave to severe heatwave conditions over isolated parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh through June 28, while Jharkhand is likely to experience isolated heatwave conditions on June 26. Maximum temperatures over northwest India are expected to rise by 2-3°C until June 28 before falling by up to 5°C thereafter.
Expert Opinion
Environmentalist Hishmi Husain said the recent revival of the southwest monsoon is an encouraging development, but the season remains uncertain. He said the developing El Niño is expected to exert a suppressing influence on rainfall during the remainder of the season, with the IMD currently projecting seasonal rainfall at around 90 per cent of the Long Period Average.
However, July and August remain the climatologically wettest months and could significantly improve the overall seasonal rainfall outcome.
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