IMD predicts monsoon to hit Kerala on May 29, three days ahead of schedule

`The southwest monsoon is expected to set over Kerala on May 29 with a modelled error of plus or minus four days,` the IMD has said.

New Delhi: Monsoon rains are set to arrive in India, with Kerala receiving the first showers on May 29, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday.

India is set to get a normal monsoon this year, with average rainfall likely to be 97 per cent -- essential for the economy.

The southwest monsoon will mark the beginning of the rainy season. As it progresses northward, the heat marred region will experience relief from scorching summer, Met said.

"The southwest monsoon is expected to set in over Kerala on May 29 with a model error of plus-minus four days," IMD said.

In 2017, the average seasonal rainfall over northwest India was 95 per cent, in central India 106 per cent, in southern peninsula 92 per cent and in northeast India 89 per cent.

Over 50 percent of the Indian population is dependent on agriculture and allied sectors. The maximum area under cultivation depends on rain.

Earlier in April, IMD said that India was set to get a normal monsoon this year, with average rainfall likely to be 97 per cent. The prediction stands at a moderate error estimated of plus-minus 5 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA).

A figure between 96 to 104 percent is considered normal monsoon. Monsoon season normally extends from June 1 to September 30.

In 2017, India got the first showers through the southwest monsoon on May 30.