Bhubaneswar: The southwest monsoon reached Odisha on Saturday, four days ahead of schedule, and covered parts of Malkangiri district, the weather office said.

The IMD has also predicted thunderstorm with lightning accompanied by strong wind speed reaching 30-40 kmph at one or two places over Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Malkangiri, Koraput and Rayagada districts on Sunday. There is a possibility of coming.

“Southwest monsoon has entered Odisha today. It covered parts of Malkangiri district of Odisha,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) regional center in Bhubaneswar said in its evening bulletin on Saturday.

The weather department said the monsoon reached Kerala on June 5 and covered entire South Arabian Sea, parts of Central Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep, parts of coastal and south interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and parts of Bay of Bengal before reaching Kerala. Malkangiri of Odisha.

Meanwhile, it said heat wave conditions are likely to persist at one or two places in Bargarh, Bolangir and Nuapada districts on Sunday.

The weather office has predicted that hot and humid weather may persist at one or two places in Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, Gajapati districts on Sunday.