Chandigarh: With monsoon losing momentum after making an early advance into parts of southern and eastern India, it is now likely to miss the normal date of arrival in Chandigarh. It is expected to reach by the end of this month.Officials in the weather department attribute the slowdown to the absence of strong moisture-laden winds from the Arabian Sea, which are important for carrying the monsoon northward along the Konkan coast.According to the IMD, the southwest monsoon is likely to advance into parts of Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar, and parts of Chhattisgarh on June 23.Earlier, monsoon was expected to arrive in Chandigarh on June 24-25, which is normal. “Due to its slow movement, monsoon is now expected by the end of June,” said director, Chandigarh meteorological centre, Surender Paul. Even pre-monsoon showers cannot be expected anytime soon.However, Chandigarh residents may get intermittent relief from the summer heat as the IMD has forecast isolated rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds in the city on June 18 and 21. The weather office has predicted partly cloudy skies along with chances of light rain and thunderstorm this week.According to the IMD’s evening bulletin, Chandigarh recorded maximum temperature of 38.3 degrees Celsius, two degrees above normal, while the minimum temperature settled at 25.5 degrees Celsius, one degree below normal.The weather department has forecast partly cloudy skies with chances of thunderstorm and light rain on June 18 and June 21, while partly cloudy conditions are expected to prevail on June 19, 20 and 22.Maximum temperature is likely to hover around 37 degrees Celsius for the next three days before dipping to 36 degrees Celsius on June 21 and 35 degrees Celsius on June 22. Minimum temperature is expected to hover between 25 degrees Celsius and 27 degrees Celsius.The IMD has also issued a weather alert for Chandigarh and surrounding areas, warning of the possibility of thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds reaching speeds of 40 to 50 kmph at isolated places from June 18 to June 22.Meteorologists said the expected cloud cover and scattered rainfall could help moderate day temperature and provide some respite from the prevailing humid conditions. However, no widespread or prolonged rainfall event is expected in the region at present, with only isolated showers forecast during the period.
