India's monsoon deficit drops to 21% amid steady regional rains
Good news on the weather front: India's monsoon deficit has dropped to 21% this Wednesday, thanks to steady rain in central, northwest, and east India.
While these regions are catching up (central is now just 13% behind normal and northwest is at 18%), the south peninsula still lags with a 26% shortfall.
East and northeast India are seeing the biggest gap at 32%.
The IMD says "normal" rainfall falls within a 19% range above or below average, so there's still some ground to cover.
IMD forecasts heavy rain eastern Gujarat
The IMD expects even more rain soon, especially in eastern Gujarat over the next couple of days.
Madhya Maharashtra, Konkan, and Goa (and parts of Jammu and Kashmir) are also likely to get drenched.
This surge is being driven by active monsoon systems like cyclonic circulation over Madhya Pradesh and a western disturbance up north.
Some places have already seen record-breaking showers: Kaprada got a whopping 42cm and Daman saw 34cm.
Widespread rain has also hit Odisha, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, and Himachal Pradesh, with more heavy spells expected in Uttarakhand, Haryana-Delhi region, Rajasthan, and west Uttar Pradesh in the next day or so.