Goa, June 6 -- The southwest monsoon entered Maharashtra on Friday, keeping to its normal schedule despite reaching Kerala later than usual earlier this week, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The monsoon arrived in Kerala on June 4, three days after its normal onset date of June 1 and significantly later than the IMD's earlier forecast of May 26. However, favourable weather conditions helped the system advance rapidly along the west coast, covering large parts of the region up to Goa by June 5 before entering Maharashtra on June 6.

In its latest bulletin, the IMD reported that the southwest monsoon has advanced into additional areas of the west-central and east-central Arabian Sea, Karnataka, the entire Goa region...