Monsoon to hit Maha between June 6-8

New Delhi: Monsoon is likely to reach Maharashtra and Goa in the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday, with a private weather forecasting agency predicting sustained heavy rains later this week.

Rain over the western coast, especially in Mumbai, is likely to peak between June 8 and 10, private agency Skymet said.

However, the government said as monsoon is strengthening, increased rains were expected from June 7 in Kerala, coastal Karnataka, Konkan belt and Goa. It also warned of "possible flooding" from June 10 onwards in these areas.

Monsoon, which made an onset in Kerala on May 29, three days before its scheduled arrival, has advanced in some parts of Tamil Nadu, and southwest, west-central, east-central, northeast of Bay of Bengal, and in most of the northeastern states, the IMD said.

"Conditions are likely to become favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of south peninsula, Bay of Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and remaining parts of Tripura and some parts of Meghalaya, and sub-Himalayan West Bengal during next 2-3 days with the likely development of favourable circulation features and strengthening of cross equatorial winds.

"Rainfall activity is likely to increase over parts of Maharashtra and Goa states from June 6, leading to advance of southwest monsoon over these areas during June 6 to June 8," the IMD said in its bulletin.

Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, M Rajeevan, said monsoon is "strengthening" from June 7 and Kerala, coastal Karnataka, the Konkan belt, including Mumbai, and Goa are likely to witness "very heavy rains" and "possible flooding" from June 10 onwards.