Southwest monsoon hits Kerala three days behind schedule

Key points

• The southwest monsoon, crucial for kharif sowing, arrived in Kerala on Thursday, three days after its normal onset date of 1 June.
• However, weather officials said the delay remains within the normal range.
• "The delay by three days is within the standard deviation," said Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general of meteorology, India Meteorological Department (IMD).
• According to the IMD’s earlier forecast, the monsoon onset over Kerala was expected around 26 May, with a margin error of four days, extending the likely window till 30 May.
• In its latest update, the IMD said the southwest monsoon has advanced into the remaining parts of the southwest and southeast Arabian Sea, parts of the west-central and east-central Arabian Sea, the entire Lakshadweep region, Kerala and Mahe, parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the remaining Comorin area, southeast Bay of Bengal, and additional areas of the southwest, west-central, east-central and northeast Bay of Bengal.