Monsoon onset to be delayed, likely to hit Kerala by June 3: IMD
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New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the onset of the annual monsoon over the Kerala coast is delayed by two days on Sunday. It is now expected to hit the Kerala coast on June 3 against the normal onset date of June 1.
According to a government release citing the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD)'s latest data, the southwesterly winds could strengthen further gradually from June 1, resulting in a likely enhancement in rainfall activity over Kerala.
However, isolated heavy rainfall over Kerala and Mahe may continue.
The government release said that the cyclonic circulation over Punjab and its neighbourhood extending up to 1.5 kilometres above the mean sea level persists. So does the one over the east-central Arabian Sea off the Karnataka coast, at 3.1 kilometres above sea level.
According to IMD chief Dr M Mohapatra, the monsoon itself has been delayed because the "south-westerly winds have not strengthened.
He said that the hindrance in the progress of the southwest monsoon is due to the cyclonic circulation along the Karnataka coast.
"We expect the situation to start improving from June 1, leading to the onset of Monsoon over Kerala on June 3, 2021," Dr Mohapatra told NDTV.
Last month, IMD had said that the monsoon would be average this year raising expectations of higher farm output, which is central to the country's economy.