The southwest monsoon arrived over the Kerala coast and portions of the northeast on Thursday, a day ahead of the weather office's forecast, likely influenced by cyclone Remal's impact. Experts suggest that Remal's path across West Bengal and Bangladesh on Sunday may have redirected the monsoonal flow towards the Bay of Bengal, potentially contributing to the early onset over the northeast region.
"Southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala and advanced into most parts of northeast India today, the 30th May, 2024," the India Meteorological Department said.
The earlier commencement of the southwest monsoon is partly credited to Cyclone Remal, which recently struck West Bengal and Bangladesh, altering the monsoonal flow towards the Bay of Bengal.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) revealed on Wednesday that conditions are swiftly aligning for the southwest monsoon to set in over Kerala within the following 24 hours. This suggests a potential deviation from the initially projected onset date of May 31.
Kerala has witnessed heavy rainfall in recent days, resulting in a surplus of precipitation for the month of May, as indicated by data from the weather office. The impact of Cyclone Remal is thought to have played a role in the premature arrival of the monsoon in the northeast region as well.
Normally, the monsoon onset date for states like Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, and Assam is June 5. However, the IMD expects further advancement of the monsoon into various parts of South Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep, Bay of Bengal, and northeastern states in the coming days.