Monsoon likely to keep its date with Ahmedabad

AHMEDABAD: Monsoon is likely to keep its date with Gujarat. Weather officials said the south-west monsoon is likely to enter Gujarat in the next 48 hours, keeping its annual date of June 15 or 16.
On Monday, the mercury that had once again shot to 44 degrees celsius due to the heatwave, relented by a couple of degrees as Ahmedabad recorded 40.8 degrees, Vadodara 40.7 degrees, Rajkot 40.6 degrees and Surat 35 degrees.
Director of the India Meterological Department (IMD), Gujarat Kamaljit Ray said the monsoon has reached Mumbai and is likely to enter south Gujarat soon.
"Conditions are favourable for the entry of monsoon in the state in the next 48 hours," said Ray. Monsoon traditionally enters the state from south Gujarat and then moves towards the rest of the parts. If all goes well, Ahmedabad and other parts of the state are also expected to get rains by June 20.
Meanwhile, after the hot weekend, owing to the heat wave that had the city in its grip for three days, there was some relief as the temperature dropped to 40.8 degrees. The heat wave was due to north-westerly winds blowing in the state.
City experienced spells of cloudy weather and winds blowing hinting at the impending arrival of the monsoon. Once the monsoon enters south Gujarat, Ahmedabad and other parts of the state will also start experiencing pre-monsoon activity like thunderstorms and drizzles.