New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced that this year, the southwest monsoon is likely to set in over Kerala on May 31.
Southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala on June 1, with a standard deviation of about seven days. IMD has been issuing operational forecasts for the date of monsoon onset over Kerala from 2005 onwards. An indigenously developed state-of-the-art statistical model with a model error of ± 4 days is used for the purpose, according to an IMD statement.
Last year, the monsoon arrived in Kerala on June 8. The IMD had forecast the arrival on June 4 with a margin of 4 days.
In its latest bulletin, the IMD has forecast heatwave conditions over Northwest India from May 16 and in the eastern region from May 18. Concurrently, heavy rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds, is anticipated over the southern states until May 20.
IMD has forecast above average monsoon rainfall in 2024, which augurs well for the country’s agricultural sector which was hit by erratic weather last year.
The monsoon, which normally arrives in Kerala around June 1 and retreats in mid-September, is expected to total 106 per cent of the long-term average this year.
Also Read: Monsoon To Reach Andaman And Nicobar Islands By May 19: IMD
