The southwest monsoon set in over Kerala on Thursday, said the India Meteorological Department. This marks the beginning of the four-month rainy season in the country.

This year, the monsoon has reached Kerala three days later than its usual onset date of June 1.

The weather agency had earlier predicted that the monsoon would arrive in Kerala by May 26. However, it acknowledged on May 29 that the monsoon was unlikely to set in over the state within the four-day window around that date.

Revising its forecast on Tuesday, the IMD said that the monsoon was expected to arrive in Kerala by June 4.

On Thursday, the agency stated that the monsoon had advanced into the remaining parts of the southwest and southeast Arabian Sea, the entire Lakshadweep region, Kerala and Mahe, parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the remaining parts of the Comorin area, the southeast Bay of Bengal and additional parts of the west-central, east-central and northeast Bay of Bengal.

Conditions were favourable for the monsoon to advance further into Goa, parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, more areas of Karnataka and the remaining parts of Tamil Nadu over the next two to three days, it added.

The southwest monsoon season generally begins in June and starts to retreat by September. The India Meteorological Department declares...

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