THURSDAY, MAY 09, 2024
Team Herald
PANJIM: The southwest monsoon hit India on Thursday with its onset over Kerala, a week later than normal, but Goans will have to wait for a few days for the rains to arrive to get the much-needed relief from the scorching heat.
The southwest monsoon is seven days late than its normal date of arrival- which is June 1.
The monsoon normally sets over Goa’s coast by June 5. Last year, the monsoon had set over Kerala on May 29.
In a statement on Thursday, the IMD said, “The southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala today, June 8.”
IMD said that the conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of central Arabian Sea, remaining parts of Kerala, some more parts of Tamil Nadu, some parts of Karnataka and some more parts of southwest, Central and northeast Bay of Bengal and some parts of north-eastern States during next 48 hours.
Meanwhile, a very severe cyclonic storm ‘Biparjoy’ would intensify gradually during the next 18 hours and move north-northwestward during the next three days. Yellow colour alert has been issued for Goa on June 9 and 10.
In a bulletin, the Met office said the depression lay about 850 km west of Goa, 890 km southwest of Mumbai, 900 km south of Porbandar, and 1,180 km south of Karachi, Pakistan, at 5:30 am on Thursday.
Over the last few years, the date of the monsoon onset over Goa has varied widely. In 2022, the monsoon onset over Goa was on June 10, while in 2021 it was on June 7.
In 2020, when monsoon broke all records with 41 per cent surplus rains, the onset was on June 11, almost 10 days after its arrival in Kerala.
