Monsoon rains hit southern Kerala coast, northeast simultaneously

New Delhi: The monsoon has arrived in mainland India, two days before the normal onset date, said India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday. Monsoon has also hit the northeast India due to the occurrence of cyclone Mora, which aided the advancement of seasonal rainfall.
The north east states where monsoon hit includes some parts of Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. The government weather forecaster announced the arrival after 78 per cent of its monitoring stations across Kerala reported rain in excess of 2.5mm for two consecutive days.
Apart from this, other criteria like speed, direction of wind and depth of westerlies have been met. The onset marks the beginning of the June to September rainy season, which accounts for more than 70 per cent of the India's annual rainfall. "An early arrival of the monsoon is no indicator of its ultimate performance", said N. Chatopadhyay,deputy director general at the Agricultural Meteorology Division, IMD.
The normal date for the arrival of the south-west monsoon is 1June. It advances to other parts of the country over June and normally reaches the northeast India by 15 July.
The arrival of the monsoon also affects the timing of the sowing of crops. According to IMD's latest press release, south-west monsoon has further advanced into some more parts of south Arabian Sea, remaining parts of Maldives-Comorin area, southern parts of Lakshadweep area, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, some more parts of south-west Bay of Bengal, remaining parts of south-east Bay of Bengal, some parts of west central Bay of Bengal, most parts of east central and northeast Bay of Bengal and some parts of Nagaland-Manipur-Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.
Conditions are favourable for further advance of south-west monsoon into remaining parts of the above mentioned areas in the coming 3-4 days. "We expect monsoon to advance further between 5 June and 10 June. It is likely to cover entire Kerala, Tamil Nadu, parts of Madhya Maharashtra and Konkan and Goa, Andhra Pradesh and remaining parts of northeastern states and some parts of West Bengal," said private weather forecaster Skymet on its website.
The monsoon hit the Nicobar Islands and the entire south Andaman Sea on May 15, two days ahead of the normal date of May 17 . Earlier this month, IMD director general K.J. Ramesh had said India could get more rain than previously forecast since the probability of the so-called Indian Ocean Dipole, a condition that nullifies the effect of the El Nino, has risen substantially.
El Nino is a weather condition that develops due to excessive warming of the Pacific Ocean, disrupting the south-west monsoon pattern and often leading to drought-like conditions. The IMD on 18 April forecast this year's monsoon rains at 96 per cent of the 50-year average of 89 cm.