The South-West monsoon hit the Kerala coast today, the weather bureau has said, marking its earliest onset since 2009. The normal date for the onset of the monsoon is June 1. For the first time, the monsoon also covered parts of Karnataka, up to Chennai (Tamil Nadu), and Mizoram simultaneously on the onset day, scientists said, adding that it once hit Karnataka before reaching Kerala in the 1990s.
Amid predictions for “above normal” monsoon rainfall this year and unusually high pre-monsoon rainfall, at 70 percent above the normal of 44.7 mm, during May 1-24, the early arrival will also help farmers start sowing Kharif crops.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in an official release issued on May 10 predicted that “the South-West monsoon is likely to set over Kerala on May 27, with a model error of ± 4 days.” The monsoon arrived in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on May 13, a week earlier than its scheduled date of May 20.
