Monsoon to reach Kerala on time: IMD

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday said that Southwest Monsoon will hit Kerala on time this year. Stating the first part of Monsoon would be better this year compared to 2012, the IMD said it will issue the next forecast in June. As per the Met department`s previous forecast, Monsoon was likely to hit Kerala`s coast on June 3. However, latest predictions hint at an early onset. As per latest analysis, Southwest Monsoon has till now covered the entire Andaman Sea and parts of Bay of Bengal. Monsoon had brought its first showers to the Andaman Sea on May 17, three days before the normal onset date. A section of scientists, whose predictions is used by the IMD in its ensemble forecast of Monsoon, have said that the latest analysis of weather patterns indicate an early onset of monsoon over Kerala. "...the latest initial conditions upto May 19 show that the onset may be around May 28," they said, adding that the model error for their forecast was three days. Last month, the weather office had forecast normal Monsoon this year with overall rainfall expected to be 98 per cent of the long period average. Monsoon is crucial for the kharif crops such as rice, soyabean, cotton and maize because almost 60 per cent of the farm land in the country is rain-fed. (With PTI inputs)