The Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala and advanced into most parts of Northeast India today, May 30, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday.
Earlier on May 15, the weather office had announced the onset of monsoon over Kerala by May 31.
"Conditions continue to become favourable for the onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala during the next 24 hours," IMD had said on Wednesday.
"The conditions also continue to become favourable for further advance of Southwest Monsoon into some more parts of South Arabian Sea, remaining parts of Maldives, Comorin, Lakshadweep, southwest and central Bay of Bengal, northeast Bay of Bengal and some parts of Northeastern states during the same period," it added.
Kerala has been receiving heavy rain for the past few days resulting in a surplus May rainfall, the weather office data showed.
Weather scientists said that Cyclone Remal, which ripped through West Bengal and Bangladesh on Sunday, had pulled the monsoonal flow to the Bay of Bengal, which could be one of the reasons for early onset over the north-east.
The normal monsoon onset date for Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, and Assam is June 5.
Monsoon is critical for India's agricultural landscape, with 52 per cent of the net cultivated area relying on it. It is also crucial for replenishing reservoirs critical for drinking water, apart from power generation across the country.
El Nino conditions are prevailing at present, and La Nina may set in by August-September, scientists say.
El Nino - the periodic warming of surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean - is associated with weaker monsoon winds and drier conditions in India. La Nina - the antithesis of El Nino- leads to plentiful rainfall during the monsoon season.
The IMD is also anticipating the development of a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) or cooler-than-normal Indian Ocean in the east compared to the west, which helps bring rain to several states in southern India.
