Team News Riveting
Thiruvananthapuram, May 24
The southwest monsoon reached Kerala on Saturday, marking its earliest onset over the state since 2009.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said normally, the southwest monsoon makes its onset over Kerala by June 1 and covers the entire country by July 8. It starts retreating from northwest India around September 17 and withdraws completely by October 15.
The monsoon set in over the southern state on May 30 last year; June 8 in 2023; May 29 in 2022; June 3 in 2021; June 1 in 2020; June 8 in 2019; and May 29 in 2018, IMD data showed.
Taking records since 1975 into account, the earliest onset was on May 19, 1990, which was 13 days ahead of schedule. This year’s early onset reflects favourable atmospheric and oceanic conditions, setting the stage for widespread rainfall across the southern states.
This early arrival is attributed to the formation of a low-pressure system in the Arabian Sea and the advancement of favourable monsoon winds, according to the IMD.
The department has warned that Konkan and Goa, central Maharashtra, coastal Karnataka and south interior Karnataka will receive heavy rain.
This year’s onset is the earliest since 2009 and 2001, when the monsoon reached Kerala on May 23. The normal onset date is June 1, but early monsoon arrivals are not unprecedented. The earliest ever recorded onset over Kerala was on May 11 in 1918, while the most delayed was on June 18 in 1972.
In the last 25 years, the most delayed onset occurred in 2016, when the monsoon reached Kerala only by June 9.
