Hans News Service New Delhi

Thesouthwest monsoon has further advanced into the remaining parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab, covering the entire country, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday.

The department said that there has been a delay of a day in the monsoon, covering the whole country, as it normally takes place on July 8.

The monsoon onset over Kerala this year took place on June 4, marking the beginning of the southwest monsoon season (June-September) in the country. Usually, the arrival of the monsoon in the state occurs on June 1.

So far in July, India has witnessed a large surplus of rainfall, while the normal rainfall in the first nine days of the month is 73.8 mm, the country as a whole has seen 101.9 mm of rainfall.

Note that in its monthly forecast on June 30, the IMD had predicted rain across the country in the first seven to 10 days of the month.

However, it added that July will be drier than usual, with rainfall across the country expected to be 94 per cent of the long-period average (LPA).

LPA refers to the rainfall recorded over a particular region for a given period, such as a month or a season, averaged over a long period, typically 30 to 50 years.