Southwest monsoon hits Kerala coast

The southwest monsoon hit the Kerala coast on Thursday, two days after its normal date and three days after it was initially forecasted to reach India.

Rainfall during the crucial monsoon season is expected to deliver slightly above-normal rainfall at 101% of its long-performing average this year with even distribution across core agricultural areas, the weather office had said earlier.

This would cheer the agricultural sector in the country, which directly or indirectly employs two-thirds of the country. The agriculture ministry has laid out a record target of 305.44 million tonnes of food grain for this year’s harvest.


Rainfall will also be well distributed across the country, with only Kerala and the northeastern region forecast to get slightly lower rainfall, the India Meteorological Department said.

Monsoon rainfall is likely to be normal across the country throughout June, IMD said in its forecast. This is crucial because it is often the sowing time for most of India's farmers for water-intensive crops such as rice, sugarcane, cotton, and soybean.

The probability of a normal or above-normal monsoon this year is 74%. This would mark the third consecutive year of above-normal rainfall in India, after 10% excess in 2019 and 9% excess in 2020.