Monsoon hits Kerala early

Rain to reach Karnataka in 2-3 days, says Met office

The southwest monsoon hit mo­st parts of Kerala and some areas of Tamil Nadu on Sunday, three days ahead of its normal onset on June 1, the Meteorological Office anno­unced.

The monsoon has also advanced into most parts of the South Arabian Sea, some parts of Tamil Nadu, South Bay of Bengal and the South Andaman Sea, an official bulletin said.

Conditions are favourable for further advancement of the southwest monsoon over the remaining parts of Kerala, Ta­mil Nadu and Karnataka during the next two to three days, it added.

While rainfall occurred at most places in Kerala, Laks­ha­dweep and at a few places over coastal Karnataka, parts of Ta­mil Nadu, Telangana and So­uth-Interior Karnataka experienced “isolated rainfall.”

Kumarakom in Kottayam district recorded the highest ra­infall of 14 cm, followed by Cherthala (12 cm), Irinjalakuda (11), Kochi Airport, Aluwa and Va­ikom (8 cm each), Ko­z­h­ikode (7 cm), the Met office said. In Tamil Nadu, Devala and Kundah bridge (both in Nilgiris district) recorded 1 cm each, besides Keeranur in Pudukottai district during the past 24 hours.

The Meteorological Centre has predicted isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over Kerala and Lakshadweep during the next 48 hours. The southwest monsoon’s advance has been widely welcomed by farmers and others in Tamil Nadu. It is expected to bring down the unbearable summer temperatures that hover around at 40 degrees Celsius plus.

The monsoon’s timely arrival is crucial for farmers to plan their agriculture operations throughout the country, particularly in the South as much of farming in Tamil Nadu is dependent on rains in the Cauvery’s catchment areas.

The government, anticipati­ng a normal monsoon, adva­n­ced the release of water for ir­rigation from the Mettur reservoir to June 6 from the traditional date of June 12. This has been widely welcomed by farmers.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in Delhi has forecast that rainfall during the four-month season was “most likely” to be normal this year, at about 98 per cent of the Long Period Average.

However, the forecast is not final and IMD will update it in June after taking into account parameters for which data would be available only by then.