Monsoon in Drought-Hit Kerala by 30 May, Two Days Before Schedule

Monsoon in Alleppy, Kerala. (Photo: Reuters)

India's monsoon rains are expected to hit the southern Kerala coast on 30 May, two days ahead of schedule, the Indian Meteorological Department said on Tuesday. The monsoon will bring much-needed relief to a drought-ridden Kerala, who’s agriculturally dependent economy, has been reeling from a prolonged drought.

KJ Ramesh, Director General of the state-run India Meteorological Department, told Reuters last week that India is likely to receive a higher amount of rainfall than was previously forecast.

Also Read: Farmers in Kerala’s Kole Wetlands Reel Under Unprecedented Drought

An official in the Meteorological department told ET Now that the monsoon rains this year will be at 96% of the long-period average, confirming the forecast that the department had made in April.

The Indian Meteorological Department defines 96%-104% rains of the long-period average as ‘normal’, and that below 96% as ‘below normal’, and below 90% as ‘deficient’, according to a report by The Financial Express.

On Monday, the department revealed that the the southwest monsoon had covered the Nicobar Islands and the entire south Andaman Sea, three days ahead of its normal onset date.

Also Read: “No Water for the Past 12 Days”: Kerala Stares at Severe Drought

(With inputs from PTI)