Monsoon onset over Kerala expected in next 4-5 days, says IMD

If realised, this year’s monsoon onset could be the earliest since 2010.

The normal date for the onset over Kerala–which marks the beginning of the four-month-long southwest monsoon season over the country–is June 1. As the monsoon winds strengthen, the monsoon advances into remaining parts of the country through June and covers the entire country by mid-July.

” All the oceanic and atmospheric factors are in favour of an early monsoon onset,” a senior IMD official said on Tuesday.

The monsoon advance is also favoured over some more parts of the South Arabian Sea, remaining parts of the Maldives and Comorin area, some parts of Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, some more parts of the south and central Bay of Bengal, northeast Bay of Bengal, and some parts of northeastern states during the same period, the IMD said.

Kerala, Karnataka and coastal areas of Maharashtra remain under red alert in the wake of the likely development of a low-pressure area off the Karnataka coast around May 22.

“An upper air circulation is likely to form off Karnataka coast in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday and this system will intensify into a low pressure by May 22. The system will move northwards and intensify further,” the IMD said in its weather bulletin issued on Tuesday morning.

The IMD has warned of heavy rainfall across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Konkan, Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura till May 24.