The southwest monsoon is advancing rapidly over most parts of the country. According to the Meteorological Department, there are favourable meteorological conditions for the advance of southwest monsoon over the North Arabian Sea, Gujarat state, remaining parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gangetic plains of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and some parts of East Uttar Pradesh during the next 3-4 days. The monsoon will cover northwest India by July 3, including Delhi and major agricultural states like Punjab and Haryana. The IMD forecast said that rainfall activity is likely to remain above normal over most parts of the country except the Western Himalayan region and West Rajasthan.