Bhubaneswar, June 17: The southwest monsoon has arrived in the state bringing relief from the extremely hot and humid weather conditions.

The monsoon today made its presence felt in the districts of Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur and Puri.

It also advanced to some parts of Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati districts. The regional meteorological centre here said conditions were favourable for further advancement of the rains into the remaining parts the state in the next two to three days.

With the arrival of monsoon, several parts of the state experienced rain in the past 24 hours. The highest rainfall of 69.8mm was recorded at Baripada followed by 50mm in Bhawanipatna, 25.9mm in Jharsuguda and 22.6mm in Keonjhar. Cuttack and Bhubaneswar also experienced light rain measuring 2.2mm and 1.3mm, respectively, during this period.

Met director Sarat Chandra Sahu told The Telegraph that due to the erratic pattern of wind in the beginning of this month, the arrival of monsoon in the state was slightly delayed. "The southwest monsoon will trigger rain initially in interior and north Odisha before it pours all across the state," said Sahu.

The India Meteorological Department has spotted a trough line that stretches from Rajasthan to the northwestern part of Bay of Bengal and crosses Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha. Weather experts say this trough line will bring more rainfall to Odisha. An upper air cyclonic circulation also lies over the northwest Bay of Bengal that will ensure more rainfall.

"Summer was really harsh this time. I hope that the monsoon will also be good so that a balance is maintained in the environment. The rain and the overcast conditions today in the city have brought major relief to us. At least, the temperature came down somewhat," said Old Town resident Shanti Lata Rath.

According to the daily weather bulletin issued by the Met department today, rain and thundershower will occur at most places in interior Odisha and a few places along the coast. Heavy rainfall will occur at one or two places in interior Odisha over the next 24 hours. The rainfall activity will continue till the end of this month.

The weather department has also issued a warning of strong surface winds of up to 40kmph blowing along the north and south coasts of the state in the next 48 hours.