Monsoon rains hit Kerala coast: IMD

The southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala and Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, reaching the mainland three days before the normal date to kick off the crucial crop-planting season in its four-month journey from the country’s southern tip to Kashmir.

The weather office has forecast heavy showers in the next few days and expects nearnormal rainfall in the June-September season that delivers about 80% of India’s annual rainfall and has a strong influence on agricultural output and rural sales of consumer goods. "Widespread rainfall occurred over Kerala in the past 3-4 days. The 14 rainfall monitoring stations for monsoon onset over Kerala have reported more than 60% rainfall from May 25," the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday.

Rainfall conditions, cloudiness and wind speed are among factors that determine the onset of monsoon in a region. The weather office had expected the onset over Kerala three days ahead of schedule this year, on May 29, with normal onset date being June 1.


Good monsoon rainfall is vital for rural areas where the majority of Indians live. Welldistributed rainfall increases farm incomes, which boosts sales of consumer goods, gold, tractors, motorcycles and other goods. Monsoon is also crucial for filling up reservoirs for hydropower generation and post-monsoon supply of water for drinking and irrigation. Latest official data shows that water level in India’s 91 major reservoirs is 83% of the level last year and 91% of the 10-year average.

“Over the next 48 hours, if we take just the mainland, then it will advance only over some parts of Karnataka. We will keep updating our forecast as it further progresses,” said K Sathi Devi, head of national weather forecasting centre at IMD. The weather office is expecting heavy rainfall in parts of southern peninsula and northeast India over the next few days. The southwest monsoon is also likely to arrive over parts of northeast India between Wednesday and Thursday, the weather office said.