The south-west monsoon, which had been stalled since 7 June, finally reached Pune on Sunday, and is expected to cover the whole state as well as Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the next 24 to 48 hours, the weather department said on Monday morning.

"Conditions are favourable for a further advancement. The monsoon is on the verge of entering Mumbai and is expected to proceed further during the next 24 to 48 hours, covering Mumbai and the remaining parts of the state during this period," said A B Mazumdar, deputy director general meteorology (DDGM), India Meteorological Department Pune. He said the monsoon has progressed in Solapur and has also reached Alibaug.

According to the IMD, the southwest monsoon has further advanced in some more parts of the central Arabian sea, some parts of north Konkan, Madhya Maharashtra, most parts of Karnataka, remaining parts of Rayalaseema, some parts of Telangana and north coastal Andhra Pradesh.

The northern limit of the monsoon passes through Alibaug, Pune, Solapur, Hyderabad, Kalingapatnam, Paradip, Balasore, Bankura and Gangtok.

The IMD update said that showers are likely to occur in different parts of the state due to various favourable conditions. An offshore trough at sea level from the Karnataka coast to the Lakshadweep area persists. At present, there is a cyclonic circulation over east central Arabian Sea, off the Goa-Karnataka coast, and if this persists it will aid in rainfall.

This has been the longest wait for the monsoon in Pune, the bellwether district of Maharashtra, during the last two decades. Before this, the longest delay had been in 2005 when the monsoon had reached the city on 19 June 19.

The IMD is still unsure of the monsoon's further advance to the largely rain-dependent agricultural lands in central India, notably the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh.

The 45 per cent shortfall in rainfall in the first half of June has resulted in a further dip in the water level in several reservoirs that were drawn down during the intense summer.

Normally, the monsoon should have covered almost the whole country, barring the north-west, by June 20. But this year, after a reassuring beginning with its onset in Kerala on May 26, about a week ahead of schedule, its further progress got stalled in the wake of the Aila cyclone in West Bengal.

This cooled down the Bay of Bengal, preventing the development of any atmospheric trough that could pull the monsoon northwards into the country's interiors.