Monsoon hits Kerala three days ahead of scheduled arrival, says IMD

The southwest monsoon on Tuesday hit Kerala, three days before its scheduled arrival, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

Earlier the MET department had predicted that the monsoon will hit the country on June 1 and will take around a month-and-half to cover the entire country.

The IMD has also made a forecast of “normal” monsoon rainfall in this season. The onset of monsoon over Kerala is the start of the four-month-long rainy season in the country.

However, the private weather forecasting agency Skymet had said that the monsoon made its arrival in Kerala on Monday.

According to the IMD, if after May 10, 60 per cent of the available 14 stations — Minicoy, Amini, Thiruvananthapuram, Punalur, Kollam, Allapuzha, Kottayam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Thalassery, Kannur, Kudulu and Mangalore — report 2.5 mm or more rainfall for two consecutive days, the onset of monsoon over Kerala can be declared on the second day. This is one of the main parameters for declaring the arrival of monsoon. 

(With PTI inputs)