Indicating the early arrival of rains, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday said the southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala and advanced into most parts of Northeast India today, May 30.
The monsoon has also simultaneously commenced early in some parts of Northeastern India, where it usually arrives between June 2 and 5. As both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal branches of the monsoon are sufficiently strong, the simultaneous advancement over the Kerala and eastern India regions has been realised.
“Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala and advanced into most parts of Northeast India today, the 30th May, 2024,” IMD said on X.
A week ago, the IMD forecast the monsoon onset over Kerala on May 31. And even though Kerala has been witnessing widespread heavy rainfall for the past fortnight which has resulted in severe flooding and the release of water from some reservoirs, the IMD follows set criteria for declaring the onset.
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The normal monsoon onset date for Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, and Assam is June 5.
However, scientists said that Cyclone Remal, which ripped through West Bengal and Bangladesh on Sunday, had pulled the monsoonal flow to the Bay of Bengal, resulting in its early onset over the northeast.
The southwest monsoon brings over 70 per cent of the country’s rainfall. The June to September period is crucial for the country’s rain-fed kharif cultivation and for replenishing reservoirs and dams.
The IMD has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall over Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mahe, Andaman and Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya and the Gangetic West Bengal over the next five days.
Normal or above normal rainfall is also predicted over Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, northern regions of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Sikkim and Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttarakhand.
Meanwhile, below-normal rainfall is likely over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Odisha, and southern areas of West Bengal. If this is realised, states in eastern India will experience a rainfall deficit for the seventh consecutive season, the IMD rainfall data stated.