Bhubaneswar, June 16: Rains brought relief from heat for the residents of twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
The city skies remained overcast throughout Sunday bringing the much needed relief from the intense heat that scorched the state. The two cities also witnessed rain and thunderstorm Saturday.
Odisha is witnessing pre-monsoon showers and the conditions are now favourable for the onset of mosoon in the state.
According to Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre director H.R. Biswas, a low-pressure area is likely to build over north Bay of Bengal in the next few days and this system will help the monsoon advance.
“The onset of monsoon over Odisha is likely within a week,” he said.
The regional centre of India Meteorological Department (IMD) here predicted rainfall and moderate thunderstorm at several places along with 13 districts of Odisha, Sunday. They are Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Cuttack, Khurda, Puri, Ganjam, Gajapati, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri districts.
Earlier, Cyclone Vayu over the Arabian Sea had weakened the advancement of monsoon towards other parts of the country from Kerala, resulting in delay. “The monsoon was expected to arrive earlier in Odisha, but got delayed following disturbance in the pattern. The monsoon is now likely to hit the state’s coast in the third week of June,” Biswas said.