Southwest Monsoon Sets in Over Kerala, Eight Days Early
The Wire Staff
New Delhi: The southwest monsoon – a lifeline for many Indian states – has set in over Kerala on May 24, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced in a press statement.
The arrival of the monsoon this year is early by eight days. The monsoon usually sets in over Kerala on June 1. According to the IMD, this is the earliest that the monsoon has arrived since 2009. In 2009, the monsoon set in over Kerala on May 23.
This year, there was “widespread” rainfall activity in the state on May 23 and 24, with some parts of Kerala witnessing heavy to very heavy rainfall and this is one of the reasons why the IMD has announced the arrival of the monsoon over the state, the IMD said.
“Normally southwest monsoon set in over Kerala on 1st June and it advances over most part of northeast India by 5th June. Thus, southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala 8 days before its normal date and over Mizoram (northeast India),12 days before the normal date,” the IMD press statement read.
According to the IMD, conditions are now favourable for the further advancement of the southwest monsoon into more areas over the next two-three days.
These include parts of the central Arabian Sea and the west, central and northern parts of the Bay of Bengal, all of Goa, some parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, some regions of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, some parts of the northeastern states and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim.
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