Monsoon Advances; IMD Forecasts Rain, Thunderstorms Across AP

Visakhapatnam: The Southwest Monsoon is steadily advancing over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting further progress over the next three to four days.

According to the IMD, the Northern Limit of the Monsoon currently extends from 6°N/70°E to 17.5°N/98°E. Conditions remain favourable for the monsoon to advance into the southeast Arabian Sea, the Comorin region, and parts of the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. The onset of the monsoon over Kerala is expected around May 26, with a margin of four days.

Meteorologists observed a trough extending from the southeast Arabian Sea across Lakshadweep, north Kerala, south interior Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh up to the central Bay of Bengal at an altitude of 3.1 km to 4.5 km above mean sea level.

Meanwhile, the surface circulation that developed over south coastal Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday weakened on Wednesday along with the associated trough system extending from Kerala to Rayalaseema and Andhra Pradesh.

The IMD forecast light to moderate rain or thundershowers at isolated places over north coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and strong winds with speeds reaching 50–60 kmph are also likely in some areas.

Similar weather conditions are expected in south coastal Andhra Pradesh during the same period.

Rayalaseema is likely to receive scattered rainfall and thunderstorms. Wind speeds of 40–50 kmph are expected on Wednesday and Thursday, increasing to 50–60 kmph by Friday. Maximum temperatures in the region are likely to remain between 40°C and 43°C over the next five days.

The Amaravati Meteorological Centre has also issued heatwave alerts for several districts.

On Wednesday, Nellore, Prakasam, Bapatla, Palnadu, Guntur, Krishna, NTR, Eluru, West Godavari, East Godavari and Kurnool districts were placed under orange alert, while Anakapalli, Visakhapatnam, Parvathipuram Manyam and Alluri Sitharama Raju districts remained under yellow alert.

The alerts are expected to continue through the weekend with varying intensity across coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema regions.