NEW DELHI: Monsoon rains usually arrive on the southern tip of Kerala around June 1, it will arrive in Kerala on June 6, five days after its normal onset, the Met department said today.
“At present, monsoon has covered some extreme southern part of Arabian Sea and parts of southwest-southeast-east central Bay of Bengal, Andaman sea and Andaman Nicobar islands. In the next two-three days, it’ll cover more parts of the Arabian sea,” IMD’s M Mohapatra told news agency .
“Conditions are becoming favourable for advance of southwest monsoon over the southern part of Andaman Sea, Nicobar Islands and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal during May,” it added.
On Friday, the state-run weather office had predicted that the country will see average monsoon rains this year.
Monsoon rainfall is expected to be 96 per cent of the long-term average (LPA), the weather office said in a statement. The IMD defines average, or normal, rainfall as between 96 per cent and 104 per cent of a 50-year average of 89 centimetres for the entire four-month season beginning June.
The country receives 70 % of the annual rainfall in the monsoon season, which is key to the success of the agricultural sector. The delay in the arrival of monsoon may not necessarily have an impact on the overall amount of rainfall. Last year, Monsoon arrived in Kerala on May 29, three days ahead of the normal onset date. Yet, the rain was ”below-normal”.
The monsoon rains will bring respite to most parts of the country gripped by heatwave.