New Delhi : The monsoon has arrived in Kerala today, eight days ahead of its usual onset date of June 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday. This year’s onset in Kerala is the earliest in the last 16 years.
The normal date for the monsoon’s onset over Kerala is June 1. However, the earliest recorded arrival was on May 11 in the year 1918. The record for the late onset was in 1972, when monsoon rains began as late as June 18. The most delayed arrival occurred in 2016, when the monsoon entered Kerala on June 9.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted isolated extremely heavy rainfall over Kerala, coastal and south interior Karnataka, and Konkan and Goa on Saturday. Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is likely over Kerala and coastal Karnataka through May 29, with gusty winds reaching 40–50 kmph.
Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will also see scattered showers and thunderstorms over the next five days, the weather department said. A depression has formed over the east-central Arabian Sea near the south Konkan coast and was located about 40 km northwest of Ratnagiri early on May 24.
It is expected to move eastwards and cross the coast between Ratnagiri and Dapoli later this morning. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday afternoon issued a red alert predicting heavy rainfall in the coastal districts of Maharashtra. Mumbai may experience thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, with light to moderate rainfall and winds gusting up to 40 to 50 kmph in isolated areas.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Goa, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall till Sunday. The state government has urged people to stay away from rivers and waterfalls as a precaution. Several parts of the coastal state were lashed by intense showers over the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, light rain is likely in parts of South Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) over the next two hours, according to an IMD update issued at 5:40 am on Friday. An orange alert has also been issued for Delhi-NCR, with gusty winds expected to reach up to 70 kmph.