The year’s first monsoon rain drenched Kerala and other parts of south India on Saturday — more than a week ahead of its usual start date — marking the earliest the season has begun in the country since 2009, according to the weather office.
The southwest monsoon has covered the whole of Kerala, parts of Karnataka and most parts of Tamil Nadu, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement on May 24.
Last month, the weather office had said rainfall this year would be above normal. Higher monsoon rains are seen boosting production of key kharif crops such as paddy, pulses, oilseeds, cotton and sugarcane.
According to the IMD, by Tuesday, rains are expected to cover Goa, south Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, some north-eastern states, and parts of West Bengal. “Normally, southwest monsoon sets in over Kerala on June 1, and it advances over most parts of northeast India by June 5. Thus, the southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala 8 days before its normal date, and over Mizoram 12 days before the normal date,” the weather office said in the press release.
The weather office said conditions are favourable for the advance of the southwest monsoon into some more parts of central Arabian Sea, Goa, some parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, some more parts of Karnataka, the remaining parts of Tamil Nadu, some more parts of west-central India and north Bay of Bengal.
Over the next two to three days, some more parts of the northeastern states and some parts of subHimalayan West Bengal and Sikkim could receive rain, the IMD statement said.
“The rapid progress of monsoon has been aided by the low pressure area over the Arabian Sea,” said OP Sreejith, the head of climate monitoring and prediction group at IMD.
Some weather experts expect the monsoon’s advance to slow down between May 27 and June 5. “The monsoon will continue to rapidly advance over peninsular and northeast India, covering more parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, south Maharashtra and the northeastern states by 27 May. However, this rapid progression phase is likely going to come to an end after May 27,” said Akshay Deoras, research scientist, National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading, UK.
Meteorologists are monitoring the expected intrusion of dry air over India, as it can slow down the progress of the monsoon.
The impact of the high-pressure atmospheric condition over western Russia is expected to reset the monsoon to its usual progression schedule.
“A high-pressure region is forming over western Russia and it will tweak weather patterns in such a way that a lot of dry air from arid regions such as Afghanistan and Pakistan will get pumped towards the Arabian Sea and India, blocking the monsoon progression,” said Deoras.
The southwest monsoon has covered the whole of Kerala, parts of Karnataka and most parts of Tamil Nadu, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement on May 24.
Last month, the weather office had said rainfall this year would be above normal. Higher monsoon rains are seen boosting production of key kharif crops such as paddy, pulses, oilseeds, cotton and sugarcane.
According to the IMD, by Tuesday, rains are expected to cover Goa, south Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, some north-eastern states, and parts of West Bengal. “Normally, southwest monsoon sets in over Kerala on June 1, and it advances over most parts of northeast India by June 5. Thus, the southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala 8 days before its normal date, and over Mizoram 12 days before the normal date,” the weather office said in the press release.
The weather office said conditions are favourable for the advance of the southwest monsoon into some more parts of central Arabian Sea, Goa, some parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, some more parts of Karnataka, the remaining parts of Tamil Nadu, some more parts of west-central India and north Bay of Bengal.
Over the next two to three days, some more parts of the northeastern states and some parts of subHimalayan West Bengal and Sikkim could receive rain, the IMD statement said.
“The rapid progress of monsoon has been aided by the low pressure area over the Arabian Sea,” said OP Sreejith, the head of climate monitoring and prediction group at IMD.
Some weather experts expect the monsoon’s advance to slow down between May 27 and June 5. “The monsoon will continue to rapidly advance over peninsular and northeast India, covering more parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, south Maharashtra and the northeastern states by 27 May. However, this rapid progression phase is likely going to come to an end after May 27,” said Akshay Deoras, research scientist, National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading, UK.
Meteorologists are monitoring the expected intrusion of dry air over India, as it can slow down the progress of the monsoon.
The impact of the high-pressure atmospheric condition over western Russia is expected to reset the monsoon to its usual progression schedule.
“A high-pressure region is forming over western Russia and it will tweak weather patterns in such a way that a lot of dry air from arid regions such as Afghanistan and Pakistan will get pumped towards the Arabian Sea and India, blocking the monsoon progression,” said Deoras.
