Monsoon keeps date with Kerala

NEW DELHI: Striking right on its expected date this year, southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala on Tuesday, advancing also into some parts of the Northeast India.

Widespread rainfall in the past 48 hours along with a cloud cover since May 27, formed favourable conditions for the onset of monsoon in the Southern region. “The cyclone (Mora) has somewhat helped in the strengthening of wind speeds which created conditions for the onset of monsoon in Kerala,” said a senior official at the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

The IMD had predicted advance onset of monsoon in Kerala this year on May 30, earlier this month. The normal date for onset of monsoon in the state is June 1.

The official quoted above said that unless the cyclone weakens, monsoon cannot advance further. Mora is expected to weaken by Wednesday. “The advance of monsoon will further depend on how quickly it organises again, once the cyclone weakens,” the official said.

However, conditions remain favourable for the further advancement of monsoon in the remaining parts of the Arabian Sea, Kerala , the Northeast, in the next three to four days, the weather department has said.

Along with Kerala, monsoon also advanced into some parts of the Northeast like Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram on Tuesday. Widespread monsoon activity is expected in the Northeast states over the next five days, IMD said. The department is expecting normal rainfall this monsoon, which lasts from June to September. It predicted 96 per cent rainfall of the long period average (LPA) of 89 per cent in its first forecast for 2017.

The national weather office will further update on rainfall conditions this year in the first week of June.

As far as El Nino is concerned, the IMD official said that the monsoon-disrupting phenomenon may have some impact depending on its intensity. A positive Indian Ocean Dipole, however, will offset the negative impact of El Nino on the monsoon, the official explained.