The monsoon will touch Kerala coast by June 1 and will cover the entire country by July 15. According to experts this year's weather conditions has so far been a boon to farmers. Due to absence of any major or frequent western disturbances or heavy pre-monsoon rainfall, there was practically no damage to standing or harvested rabi crops.

There was also no major incidences of pests or diseases on crops. As pre-monsoon rainfall has been less this year the sowing of cotton and jute has been delayed due to absence of adequate rains in specific regions. But this situation will soon be set right with the arrival of monsoon at the slated time. Themonsoon is slated to touch Kerala coast by June 1. It will reach north interior Karnataka, coastal Andhra Pradesh and north eastern states by June 5.

By June 10, it will cover Goa, Konkan, central Maharashtra, Marathwada, Telangana, coastal Orissa, eastern Bihar and West Bengal and Sikkim. By June 15, Saurashtra, Kutch, Diu, southern part of Gujarat region, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, MP and east UP will come under the spell of monsoon. By July 1, the rest of the regions of the country barring some parts of west Rajasthan and Punjab border will be covered by the spell of monsoon. The monsoon will cover the remaining parts of the country by July 15.

Pre-monsoon weather review: In the pre-monsoon period beginning from March 1, this year, all regions of the country received rains at different times. Saurashtra, Kutch and Diu which received no rains till May 19, received rains due to diversion of a cyclonic storm to Pakistan on May 20. The cyclonic storm was caused due to a depression formed in the southeastArabian Sea on May 16. The storm was slated to touch coastal Gujarat but was diverted to Pakistan without causing any damage. The rainfall recorded in Ahmedabad was 4 cm and that in Bhuj was 10 cm. In the pre-monsoon period, plains of west UP, hills of west UP, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, west Rajasthan, east Rajasthan, west MP, east MP, Gujarat region, Daman, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Marathawada, Saurashtra, Kutch and Diu received scanty rainfall, ranging between 60 to 90 per cent below the normal.

Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Orissa, Bihar plateau, Bihar plains, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Gangetic West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir, Konkan, Goa, central Maharashtra, Vidarbha and coastal Andhra Pradesh received deficient rainfall amounting to 20 to 59 per cent below the normal.

Arunachal Pradesh, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, east UP, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, north interior Karnataka and Kerala received normal rains, while Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Rayalaseema, coastalKarnataka, south interior Karnataka and Lakshadweep received excess rainfall in the pre-monsoon period.

Previous week's review: A depression was formed in the south east Arabian Sea on May 16, which moved in a north westerly direction and intensified into a cyclonic storm in the morning of May 17. It was located at about 350 km west of southwest of Goa. It continued o move north westwards away from Indian coast line, intensified into a severe cyclonic storm by the same evening when it lay centred about 650 km south-south-west of Veraval. This system moved further in a north westerly direction till the morning of May 18 and then in a northerly direction and crossed Pakistan coast, west of Naliya during the morning hours of May 20. In the morning of May 22, this storm weakened into a depression and lay centred about 70 km north of Barmer in west Rajasthan. It is likely to move in a northerly direction and weaken gradually.

During the week ended May 19, rain or thundershowers occurred at most placesin West Bengal, Sikkim, Kerala and Lakshadweep. It also occurred at many places in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Orissa, central Maharashtra, Konkan, Goa, coastal and south interior Karnataka, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and at a few places in J&K, Himachal Pradesh, east UP, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya, Vidarbha, Marathwada, north interior Karnataka, coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Isolated rain or thundershowers also occurred in the rest regions of the country.

Temperatures: Unexpected rise in temperatures in certain periods of April and May was a matter of concern. This was mainly due to the absence of any major western disturbances.

During the week ended May 19, day temperatures were below normal by 3øC to 5øC in Bihar, plains of UP, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, interior Karnataka and some parts of Maharashtra. Day temperatures were nearly normal elsewhere in the country except over some parts of Rajasthan and MP where they were above normal by 2øC to 3øC on some daysof the week. The highest day temperature of 46.5øC was recorded at Phalodi in Rajasthan on May 18.

Forecast for next week: Rainfall would be more than normal in Rajasthan and Gujarat, normal in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K, Assam and neighbouring states, West Bengal, Sikkim, Kerala, Karnataka, Konkan, Goa, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands and below normal in rest of the country.

Rain or thundershowers are also likely at few places in southern Orissa, north coastal Andhra Pradesh, south interior Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Isolated heavy rains are likely over J&K, west Rajasthan, coastal Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.