Vigorous monsoon over parts of peninsular India and the north-west has further helped cut overall deficit to 13 per cent as of Monday.

Over peninsular India, the monsoon held strong over Vidarbha and south interior Karnataka during the 24 hours ending on Monday morning, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) update said.

‘LOW’ STILL ACTIVE

It was only ‘slightly less active’ during this period over Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, east Rajasthan, east Madhya Pradesh, Konkan, Goa, Marathawada, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, coastal Karnataka and north interior Karnataka.

Meanwhile, the causative low-pressure area persisted over north Chhattisgarh and adjoining Jharkhand and Odisha. The IMD has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall over Konkan, Goa, coastal Karnataka for three more days.

The warning is valid for next two days for Madhya Pradesh, east Rajasthan, Assam and Meghalaya.

HEAVY RAIN WARNING

Heavy rains also lash Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, west Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh), Chhattisgarh and Vidarbha on Tuesday.

Also the same day, thundershowers may break out over Marathawada, Madhya Maharashtra, interior Karnataka, Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and north Andhra Pradesh.

Elsewhere, rain has been forecast for the western Himalayan region; central India; the west coast; plains of northwest India; east and north-east India; east Gujarat; and Lakshadweep.

The overall rain deficit cut reduced to 13 per cent as on Sunday, with north-west India (16 per cent) and south peninsula (15 per cent) running neck and neck in terms of individual deficits.

DEFICIT BREAK-UP

Central India continued to be at a more respectable 11 per cent in deficit, with east and northeast India stagnating at 13 per cent for sometime now.

The recovery has been nothing less than dramatic for north-west India, while south peninsula made most of a late monsoon surge which is active even now.

Outlook for September, when the monsoon begins to withdraw from extreme west and north-west India, is being eagerly looked forward to against a predicted build-up of an El Nino event in the equatorial east Pacific.

>vinson.kurian@thehindu.co.in