(Bloomberg) -- The southwest monsoon, which waters more than half of India's farmland, is expected to cover the entire western Maharashtra state including Mumbai in the next 24 hours, potentially hurting efforts to fight the virus outbreak in the city that's emerged as the epicenter of infections in the South Asian nation.
Conditions are becoming favorable for the weather system to likely advance to some parts of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, the India Meteorological Department said on Sunday.
Widespread rain is expected in parts of country's west coast and northeastern region during the next five days, the weather office said. Showers are likely in central and adjoining eastern parts in the next two to three days, it said.
The monsoon, which shapes the lives of millions and influences food prices, is critical for agriculture as it irrigates fields directly and fills reservoirs that help winter-sown crops. Farmers generally wait for the monsoon to arrive before planting crops such as rice, corn, pulses, cotton and sugarcane. Any deficit in showers during the early part of the season could delay sowing and hit yields, even if rains gather pace later.
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