India Weather Today: Early Monsoon Signs In South And East As Heatwave Grips Northwest And Central India

India is split between two distinct weather stories, an advancing monsoon signal in the south and east, and a building heatwave stretching across the northwest and centre of the country.

Conditions are becoming favourable for the Southwest Monsoon to advance over parts of the south Bay of Bengal, Andaman Sea, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands around May 16, marking the season's first formal foothold on Indian territory. The Andaman & Nicobar Islands are seeing scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and gusty winds of 30–60 kmph .

In the north , a fresh Western Disturbance is affecting Northwest India, bringing rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds to Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi . Delhi's maximum temperature is expected to reach 40°C , rising further to around 41°C between May 17–19, with warm nights offering little overnight relief. A severe storm recently killed 31 people across Uttar Pradesh , with Bhadohi, Fatehpur, Budaun, and Sonbhadra among the worst-hit districts. Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh will see rain and snow in the higher reaches due to the disturbance, while the plains of Uttarakhand remain warm and dry.

In the west , Gujarat is under severe heat with temperatures hitting 41–45°C across several pockets, with dry weather prevailing across the entire state including Saurashtra and Kutch . Rajasthan remains one of the hottest zones in the country, with severe heatwave conditions in isolated pockets and warm nights persisting. Mumbai and the Konkan coast are humid and partly cloudy, with pre-monsoon moisture beginning to build.

Across central India , maximum temperatures are rising by 2–3°C over Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, and Chhattisgarh , with dry and scorching conditions prevailing through most of Maharashtra's interior. Marathwada and Vidarbha are under heatwave watch.

In the south , Kerala and Mahe are receiving widespread light to moderate rain with thunderstorms, while South Interior Karnataka is under a hailstorm watch and coastal Karnataka continues to see hot, humid conditions with lightning. Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal are receiving isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall, with Chennai seeing overcast skies and gusty coastal winds. Bangalore is under partly cloudy skies with moderate temperatures in the 32–34°C range.

In the east and northeast , Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Manipur-Mizoram-Tripura belt remain under a heavy moisture spell with consistent rainfall and lightning, while West Bengal, Sikkim, Bihar, and Jharkhand are on thunderstorm watch. Residents across these states should be prepared for possible localised flooding as rainfall stays above normal for the region.