'Monsoon may hit Kerala by May 28'

The south-west monsoon is likely to hit Kerala coast between May 28 and 30,  a private weather forecasting agency has predicted. The monsoon will make landfall almost 10 days after it arrives in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

“It is likely to reach over Andaman and Nicobar Islands between May 18 and May 20. Thereafter, the south-west monsoon is likely to arrive over Kerala between May 28 and May 30, simultaneously covering some parts of north-east India,” said private forecaster Skymet in a statement.

While the official monsoon arrival date according to the India Meteorological Department is May 15, the government weather agency maintained that climatologically monsoon is expected to reach south Kerala by May 31.

Since the eastern arm of the monsoon will move on a faster pace as compared to its western arm, it is expected to reach Kolkata by June 10. Mumbai will have to wait a little and is likely to witness onset of the monsoon with a short delay between June 12 and June 14.

Advancement of monsoon may be slow over Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Most parts of these states will be covered by June 25, said Skymet.

The monsoon is likely to mark its onset over Delhi by July 1. Subsequently, almost all parts of the country, barring western Rajasthan, will be covered between July 1 and July 7. Further, the monsoon will cover the entire country before July 15.