Monsoon sets in over Kerala and Northeast on the same day
New Delhi: The south west monsoon reached the Kerala coast and north eastern India on Thursday, making it one of the rare occasions when two corners of the country enjoyed the first rain of the monsoon season on the same day.
“The south west monsoon has set in over Kerala and Mahe and advanced into most parts of north east India including entire Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and most parts of Tripura, Meghalaya and Assam on May 30,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a statement.
Since the monsoon’s traditional arrival date in Kerala and the Northeast are June 1 and June 5, respectively, this means monsoon has set in over Kerala two days before the usual date and reached the Northeast six days in advance, thanks to cyclone Remal.
Experts point out that monsoon arrival in Kerala and the Northeast are governed by two different weather processes and the cyclonic activities in the Bay of Bengal have triggered the climatic parameters that bring rain to the Northeast.
Such a simultaneous arrival happened last time in 2017. Also, it occurred three times in the 1990s – in 1991, 1995 and 1997.
Early arrival of the monsoon, however, doesn’t have any link with the amount of rainfall that a region will receive.
“The weather models show that the monsoon will progress for the next one week to reach Karnataka and Maharashtra, after which there will be a hiatus of about 10-15 days. This will delay the monsoon’s arrival to north India,” M Rajeevan, a veteran climate scientist and former Secretary, the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences told DH.
The monsoon flow, said Rajeevan, would remain weak in June, but will pick up later in the season with the emergence of La Nina between July and September.
The IMD has earlier predicted above normal rainfall for the country, suggesting 106 per cent of average rainfall between June and September.
Among the four homogeneous regions, only the Northeast is expected to receive “below normal” rainfall, while the peninsular and central India will receive “above normal” rainfall and the north west will get “normal” rain.
The weather office had announced the onset of monsoon over Kerala by May 31. The Malabar state has been receiving heavy rains for the past few days resulting in surplus rainfall.
Meanwhile, blazing heatwaves sweep north India with cities becoming hotter due to urban heat island effects, thanks to the growth of concrete buildings with lots of glass and granites.
The met officials, however, assured that the prevailing heatwaves over north west and central India will start reducing from Thursday.