The southwest monsoon set in over parts of Karnataka on Tuesday, five days ahead of its usual start date.
The Northern Limit of Monsoon (NLM), the northernmost boundary of India up to which the monsoon rains have reached on any given day, now passes through Karwar, Chikkamagaluru, Bengaluru and Dharmapuri (in Tamil Nadu), data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) shows.
According to the IMD, the southwest monsoon has advanced over some parts of Karnataka and conditions are favourable for its further advance into some more parts of the state.
Effectively, the southwest monsoon has arrived in coastal Karnataka and most parts of South Interior Karnataka (SIK).
The four-month-long rainy season usually begins in Karnataka on June 5 but this year has been rather unusual. With a long season of pre-monsoon showers, the state has had a rather rainy summer this year. The early arrival of the monsoon is one more aberration.
Tuesday's announcement is a further departure from the IMD's previous call when officials had said the southwest monsoon would reach parts of Karnataka by June 2, three days early.
The early arrival of the monsoon in coastal and SIK means the rainy season will likely reach North Interior Karnataka (NIK) sooner. As against the usual start date of June 10, the monsoon could hit the region by June 5.
The weatherman has forecast a generally cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain or thundershowers in Bengaluru for the next four days.
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