Monsoon hits Kerala a week early

Kerala has been receiving intermittent showers since Thursday morning which, however, intensified by Friday evening and steadied by Saturday morning with thick dark clouds hovering in the sky.
The Indian Meteorological Department has confirmed the onset of monsoon over the state and some parts of Tamil Nadu. It had earlier forecast that the monsoon would hit Kerala on May 26 or even three days early.
In Kerala, the southwest monsoon is normally marked by rainy mornings and cloudy though pleasant evenings.
According to Thiruvananthapuram Meteorology Centre Director M D Ramachandran, Kerala is expected to receive normal rains in June and July.

Deficit last year

“The El Nino normally rears its ahead after July when the rains may be affected,’’ Ramachandran said. Kerala had recorded a 22 per cent deficit in monsoon rainfall last year.
Considered as the lifeline of the country’s agricultural sector, a normal arrival of monsoon ensures timely sowing of crops such as paddy, oil seeds and cotton which are planted in June and July and harvested in October and November.
Besides raising farm output, the early onset of the monsoon may push the new government to lift curbs on rice exports and allow futures trade in paddy.
In Kerala, the southwest monsoon lasts till September 30.