Monsoon to hit Kerala 3 days earlier, on May 29

The India Meteorological Department said conditions were favourable for the onset of monsoon over the Andaman Sea and southeast Bay of Bengal from May 23. “The southwest monsoon is expected to set over Kerala on May 29 with a modelled error of plus or minus four days,” the IMD said.

The normal onset date for the monsoon to hit Kerala is June 1. The event marks the start of the rainy season over the region and as the monsoon progresses northward, relief from scorching summer temperatures is experienced over the areas. In its first stage long-range forecast for the 2018 southwest monsoon seasonal rainfall released last month, the IMD had predicted that the country was expected to receive 97 per cent rainfall of the Lomng Period Average (LPA).

Last week, Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency had predicted that the southwest monsoon would hit the Kerala coast on May 28. Last year, monsoon had hit Kerela on May 30, two days ahead of its normal onset date.

Meanwhile, the Centre asked the state governments to be better prepared for natural disasters to reduce their impact which have claimed 2,200 lives and have caused economic losses of Rs 60,000 crore per annum.