Monsoon covers entire UP, more showers likely

Lucknow: The southwest monsoon covered Lucknow and the remaining parts of the entire state on Thursday, two days after arrival in UP.The monsoon advancement lacked the fanfare, with only light to moderate rainfall reported from various parts of the state, unlike previous years, when arrival used to bring heavy widespread rains.

Heavy rainfall was recorded only at a few places.This year, the monsoon arrived 12 days late in Uttar Pradesh and seven days behind schedule in Lucknow. Rain since its onset has also remained below expectations.However, rain and cloudy skies have provided some relief from the intense hot and humid conditions prevailing since long.The monsoon normally enters UP on June 18, reaches Lucknow by June 23 and covers the entire UP by June 30.Mohammad Danish, senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Lucknow, said, “Although the monsoon arrived late in the state and city, the prevailing monsoon flow and favourable westerly winds are expected to support its progress and bring adequate rain across the state in the coming days.”According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) data, Mirzapur recorded 120 mm of rainfall from 8.30 am on Wednesday to 8.30 am on Thursday. It was followed by Azamgarh 110mm, Sambhal 100 mm, Bijnor 60 mm, while Etah, Varanasi, Mainpuri, Barabanki, Moradabad, Kannauj 50 mm each.

As a result of this, the average per-district rainfall deficit in UP from June 1-30 was 54% below normal. However, after two days of rain in some parts of the state, the deficit has reduced to 45% below normal.Similarly, the rainfall deficit in east UP has come down from 58% below normal to 52% below normal and in the west from 47% below normal to 32% below normal.The temperatures also remained below normal in most parts of the state due to change in weather conditions.The shortfall in rain in Lucknow, which was 80% below normal till June 30, reduced to 68% below normal following light showers for the past two days. On Thursday, the Bani area in Lucknow district recorded 30 mm rain, while the main city recorded 8 mm.The maximum temperature in the city on Thursday was 35.3 degrees Celsius, about 0.6 unit below normal. The minimum temperature 28 degrees Celsius, 1.6 notches above normal. The sky remained cloudy for most of the day.A generally cloudy sky is expected on Friday, with one or two spells of rain/thundershowers. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 34 and 28 degrees Celsius, respectively.