The southwest monsoon has advanced into Pune and Alibaug, ending a prolonged dry spell across Maharashtra. (File/Representative)The southwest monsoon finally progressed into some parts of Maharashtra, including Pune, while covering Karnataka on Monday.The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Monday, “The monsoon has further advanced into some more parts of Maharashtra, Telangana, remaining parts of Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and central Arabian Sea.”The southwest monsoon had last advanced on June 15 along the eastern India regions. With the latest monsoon progress, the northern limit of the monsoon now passes through Alibaug, Pune, Nizamabad, Dantewada, Balangir, Sundargarh, Chatra, Gaya and Muzaffarpur.Pune and neighbouring areas experienced light showers on Sunday and Monday, while the Met has forecast thunderstorms over the district till June 25, mostly during evening hours. The normal onset day for the monsoon over Pune is June 10. Pune’s rainfall deficit this season stands at 87 per cent. Normally, the monsoon used to cover Maharashtra by June 15.The monsoon onset over Gaya this year has been delayed by over a week, with June 16 being the normal date, the IMD data said. Gaya’s rainfall is 87 per cent short of normal for this time of the year.The northeast and eastern India regions are bracing for very heavy showers for the next two to three days. Kolkata and many parts of Odisha have been reporting intense rainfall spells since Sunday.In its latest rainfall update, the IMD said monsoon was likely to advance into Mumbai during the next 48 hours.Story continues below this adThe Met said, “Conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into more parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai, remaining parts of Telangana and Odisha, some more parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bihar during next 48 hours.”The country’s overall rainfall for the season is presently in the ‘deficient’ category, standing at minus 42 per cent as on June 21.