Monsoon onset over Kerala to be delayed; likely to hit state by June 3: IMD

The arrival of Southwest Monsoon over Kerala is likely to be delayed by two days and it is now expected to make an onset over the state by June 3 the India Meteorological Department IMD said on SundayHowever Skymet Weather a private forecasting agency said monsoon has already made an onset over KeralaG P Sharma President Meteorology of Skymet Weather said it is a very weak onset this yearAlso Read Southwest monsoon advances further in more parts of Bay of Bengal likely to hit Kerala by May 31 IMDSkymet Weather had earlier predicted that monsoon will make an onset over Kerala on May 30IMD Director General M Mohapatra said there is cyclonic circulation along the Karnataka coast which is hindering the progress of the Southwest MonsoonThe southwesterly winds could strengthen further gradually from June 1 resulting in likely enhancement in rainfall activity over Kerala Hence the monsoon onset over Kerala is likely to take place around June 3 the IMD saidDue to strengthening of lower level southwesterly winds fairly widespread rainfall activity with isolated heavy falls are very likely over northeastern states during the next five daysThe normal onset date for the monsoon over Kerala is June 1 This marks the start of the fourmonth rainfall season for the countryEarlier this month the IMD had predicted the arrival of monsoon over Kerala by May 31 with an error margin of plus or minus four daysOn Sunday morning the IMD in its daily bulletin said the onset of the monsoon over Kerala was expected to be around May 31 However by afternoon it said the onset is expected to be by June 3According to the IMD the onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala depends on three parametersIf after May 10 60 per cent of the 14 stations Minicoy Amini Thiruvananthapuram Punalur Kollam Allapuzha Kottayam Kochi Thrissur Kozhikode Thalassery Kannur Kudulu and Mangalore report rainfall of 25 millimetres or more for two consecutive days the onset over Kerala be declared on the second day provided other two criteria are also in concurrenceThis has to be supplemented by the wind speed The depth of westerlies should be maintained up to 600 hectopascal hPa in the box equator to Latitude 10degrees north and Longitude 55 degrees to 80degrees east The zonal wind speed over the area bounded by Latitude 5 to 10degrees north Longitude 7080degrees east should be of the order of 15 iquest 20 knots at 925 hPaThe Outgoing Longwave Radiation OLR should be below 200 watt per square meter wm2 in the box confined by Latitude 510 degrees north and Longitude 7075 degrees eastSharma said all the IMD parameters are fulfilled to declare the onset of Southwest Monsoon over KeralaIn the absence of any major monsoon trigger the onset may be slightly mild Conditions are favourable for its further advancement to more parts of the south peninsula and eastcentral Bay of Bengal Timely progress is expected over northeast India Sharma saidMohapatra said the depth of westerlies is not as much as it is expected Plus the rainfall parameters remain unfulfilled to declare onset of monsoon over KeralaMonsoon is expected to be normal this yearThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever