The southwest monsoon arrived in Kerala yesterday as predicted by the India Meteorological Department bringing heavy rains to several parts of the state and marking the commencement of the four-month-long rainfall season in the country.
“Southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala today, coinciding with its normal date,” the IMD stated.
The advance of the southwest monsoon over the Indian mainland is marked by monsoon onset over Kerala and is an important indicator characterising the transition from the hot and dry to a rainy season.
“The monsoon has arrived,”  IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.
“There has been heavy to very heavy rainfall at several places over Kerala. There has also been a persistent increase in cloudiness and strong winds. This is in line with the predictions.”
Meteorological conditions which led to the onset of monsoon are widespread rainfall during the past two days, strengthening and deepening of westerly winds up to 4.5km over the Arabian Sea and persistent cloudiness.
The Met department has issued heavy rainfall warnings for Kerala.
“Thunderstorm with lightning and wind speed reaching 40kmph in gusts accompanied by moderate rainfall is very likely to occur in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Kasaragod and Kannur.”
The IMD had earlier said that conditions were favourable for the onset of the monsoon over Kerala on June 1 due to the formation of Cyclone ‘Nisarga’ over the Arabian Sea.
This was a revision of its earlier onset forecast of June 5.
Monsoon rains are critical for farmers in India as the majority of the country’s net-sown area does not have any form of irrigation.
Farmers wait for the rains to begin sowing.