Monsoon expected to reach Kerala on May 30, hit Karnataka by June 5 says IMD

BENGALURU: The southwest monsoon is expected to hit coastal Karnataka by June 5, the India Meteorological Department ( IMD) has reported. After it lands on the Kerala coast on May 30, as has been the forecast, the monsoon is expected to touch south and coastal Karnataka within a day or two. Dr GS Srinivas Reddy, Director of the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitor Centre, however, pointed out that since a depression was forming in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday, the monsoon onset might be affected. He added that if the monsoon is strong, it will reach Karnataka sooner. If weak, it could be delayed for a week.

This year, the southwest monsoon is expected to reach Kerala and Karnataka on time, unlike the last two years. “We are expecting normal rain in the city this monsoon, and a little less than average in some other districts. Last year, the state had deficient rain in the first phase of monsoon ­ beginning from June. It got more active after second week of July, though, and rose again in August,” Reddy told ET.

Pre-monsoon showers in the city have been 70 per cent above normal, and 55 per cent above normal in the State.