Monsoon likely to hit Kerala on May 27, says IMD

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday announced that the South West Monsoon was expected to hit the Kerala coast on May 27 with a model error of plus or minus four days.

New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday announced that the South West Monsoon was expected to hit the Kerala coast on May 27 with a model error of plus or minus four days. In 2021, the South West Monsoon had set in on May 31. "This year, the onset of South-west monsoon over Kerala is likely to be earlier than the normal date. The monsoon onset over Kerala is likely to be on May 27, with a model error of plus or minus four days", said a statement from the IMD.

“As per the normal dates of monsoon onset/progress, the South-west monsoon advances over the Andaman Sea around May 22. In association with enhanced cross-equatorial winds, conditions are becoming favourable for the advance of South-west monsoon into the South Andaman Sea, Nicobar Islands and some parts of southeast Bay of Bengal, around May 15."

"Past data suggest that there is no association of the date of monsoon advance over the Andaman sea either with the date of monsoon onset over Kerala or with the seasonal monsoon rainfall over the country,” the IMD said in a statement. Weather scientists attribute the early onset of the South-west monsoon over Kerala to the influence of the remnants of cyclone Asani that triggered the cross-equatorial flow, a key factor for the seasonal rains.