Monsoon has finally hit Kerala coast after a delay of one week, marking the official commencement of the four-month rainfall season in India, according to Indian Meteorology Department (IMD). "Monsoon has made an onset over Kerala today (June 8)," said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General-Designate, India Meteorological Department.
Several parts of Kerala have started receiving abundant rainfall. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has issued red and orange alerts in different parts of the state from June 9 to June 11. Last year in August, the state witnessed one of its worst floods in India's history, in which over 350 people lost their lives. A red alert means 'very heavy' to 'extremely heavy' rainfall. The red alert has been issued in Thrissur district on June 10 and in Ernakulam, Malappuram, and Kozhikode districts on June 11. An orange alert, which means 'heavy' to 'very heavy' rainfall, has been issued in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur from June 10 to June 11.
According to private weather forecaster Skymet weather, heavy to very heavy rains are possible over Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Scattered rains might also occur over Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and North Interior Karnataka. Amidst this, weather will be almost dry over Coastal Tamil Nadu including Chennai.
Monsoon is simultaneously expected to reach Northeast India within next 24 hours. Meanwhile, scattered rains are possible over West Bengal, Sikkim and Coastal Odisha with isolated over Northeast Bihar. Weather of Jharkhand and East Uttar Pradesh will be dry.
Further moving to central India, a trough is extending from East Madhya Pradesh to Lakshadweep across Vidarbha and Marathwada. Thus, rain and thundershower activities will be a sight over South Chhattisgarh, Marathwada and South Madhya Maharashtra. Isolated rains are also possible over Konkan and Goa along with Vidarbha. Mumbai would also see partly cloudy sky with chances of light to very light rains. Meanwhile, heat wave conditions would continue at many places of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and a few places of Gujarat.
The north Indian plains, central India and parts of south India have been recording temperatures over 45 degrees Celsius. Mercury has soared to over 50 degrees in parts of Rajasthan. On Thursday, IMD said the arrival of monsoon in Delhi is likely to be delayed by two-three days from its usual onset on June 29. However, Skymet said it may take at least a week longer. The rains in June are likely to be impacted due to El-Nino, although a weak one. It is generally believed that El-Nino, associated with the heating of Pacific waters, has an impact on monsoon. Monsoon arrived in the south Andaman Sea, its first Indian outpost before it reaches the mainland, on May 18.
Also read: Monsoon rains to arrive Kerala around June 8, says IMD