Monsoon to advance across India; heavy rain alert for northeast

📌 Summary:

• IMD forecasts the southwest monsoon to advance further across large parts of India over the next 4-5 days, bringing widespread rainfall
• Isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall expected over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal & Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya for the next 6-7 days, raising risk of localised flooding
• Favourable conditions for monsoon advance into more of Maharashtra, remaining Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and south Chhattisgarh
• Heatwave conditions persist in pockets of central India even as monsoon spreads

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS1 (Geography) — Indian monsoon dynamics, its onset/advance and implications for agriculture and disaster risk.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• IMD = India Meteorological Department, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences
• Southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala around 1 June
• 'Heavy rainfall' (IMD): 64.5-115.5 mm/day; 'very heavy': 115.6-204.4 mm/day

🔑 Key Term: Southwest Monsoon — seasonal reversal of winds (June-September) that brings the bulk of India's annual rainfall.