Bhubaneswar: The southwest monsoon will cover entire Odisha in the next 24 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday morning.
Monsoon had hit the coastal belts of Odisha a day earlier on Friday, triggering widespread rainfall.
Giving the present status, the duty officer of the Meteorological Centre, Bhubaneswar, Gouranga Charan Sahu, said that monsoon has covered the northern Odisha districts of Balasore, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Puri and the southern districts of Malkangiri, Gajapati, Rayagada, Ganjam and Kandhamal.
Going by the movement of the monsoon, it will enter the remaining districts of Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Nuapada and Balangir in the next 24 hours, Sahu informed the media on Saturday.
Sahu also said that under the influence of a low-pressure formed over the north-west Bay of Bengal, heavy to very heavy rainfall will lash one or two places in the districts of Nayagarh, Cuttack, Khurda, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Angul, Keonjhar, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Sundargarh, Bargarh, Jharsuguda, Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Balasore, Ganjam, Gajapati, Nuapada and Balangir on Saturday.
Besides, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Deogarh, Nuapada, Sonepur, Balangir, Nabarangpur, Boudh, Kalahandi and Kandhamal will receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in the subsequent 24 hours on June 23, Sahu said.
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the deep sea till June 23 as the wind speed of 30-40 kmph with gusting up to 50 kmph will make the sea condition very rough.
Asked about the amount of monsoon rainfall in Odisha, Sahu said though there has been a delay in the onset of monsoon in the state by about two weeks, the state will have normal rainfall in July and August.