Monsoon to hit Kerala on May 29

New Delhi: The southwest monsoon is expected to hit Kerala coast on May 29, three days ahead of normal arrival date, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. The IMD issued the forecast with a model error of plus and minus four days.

The normal onset date of southwest monsoon is June 1 over the Kerala coast. Thereafter, it covers the entire country in next 45 days. 

The onset marks the start of the rainy season over the region and as the monsoon progresses northward, it provides relief from scorching summer temperatures experienced over the areas. However, a timely onset of monsoon over Kerala does not guarantee its normal progress over other parts of the country and also overall performance of the rains, the IMD clarified.

The met department in its first forecast of monsoon for 2018 released last month predicted that monsoon is expected to be ‘normal’, brightening chances of recovery in farm sector,



which has seen fluctuating growth rates in the first four years.

The IMD said that rainfall in June to September period is expected to be at 97 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) with model error of plus and minus 5 per cent.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) declares the arrival of monsoon rains only after parameters measuring consistency of rainfall over a defined geography, intensity, cloudiness and wind speed are satisfied.

The monsoon usually covers the half of the country in the first 15 days. The rains reach central India’s soybean areas by the third week of June and western cotton-growing areas by the first week of July.

Other than lifting farm and wider economic growth, a spell of good rains will keep a lid on inflation, potentially tempting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring forward general elections due in May 2019.