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I am planning to visit India. Unfortunately the time I have available is around the monsoons.
I know, from talking to a local, that the monsoons progress, kind of, from southwest to east, but this is a bit vague to me.
Is there a map that shows historical data displaying the monsoon progression in a map, according to the months. That would help a lot to plan.
You can check this below site for information: South West Monsoon in India, 2013
Here are a couple of maps showing normal onset and withdrawal dates of Southwest monsoon.
Also useful to see withdrawal of monsoon:
This map shows 2015 current progression day by day.
Maybe more helpful for planning purposes is average historical precipitation (follow the link and click on the month on the left under "Normal Rainfall Maps" to see monthly progression).
Seems impact of monsoon on rainfall varies from place to place, so even during monsoon you can travel without much bother in some areas.
Finally travelling during the monsoon can be pretty fun. You'll see another aspect of the country, lush vegetation and less travellers around. Could make the trip more memorable. (Anyway i love rain!)
Weather department in India publishes a map every year like it has this year but if you base your travel completely on this, you'd be making a mistake. Lookout for the monsoon section on the site.
The onset of monsoon season in India, typically early June on the southmost tips and mid to late July to the north most corners is how it is predicted, the reality however will be that an initial shower hits the regions around the expected dates(lasting a week or two at times) but nothing for a month or so after that. Rain typically comes in August or September, sometimes in October but otherwise, it's just that the places become windy, temperatures drip etc. Mountainous regions like the Ghats, Hill stations get a good rainfall continously, but that's that. An umbrella or a raincoat suffices otherwise.
This weather map is not exactly what you are looking for, but it should give you a fair idea about current conditions and history.
