Southwest Monsoon in Andaman & Nicobar Islands pays an early visit

New Delhi: As per IMD, Southwest Monsoon has already arrived in the Andaman and Nicobar islands three days before its normal time.

The moonsoon has covered the entire Nicobar island and maximum portion of the Andaman sea.

"In view of the strengthening and deepening of southwesterly winds, persistent cloudiness and rainfall, southwest monsoon has advanced into some parts of southeast Bay of Bengal, Nicobar Islands, entire south Andaman Sea and parts of north Andaman Sea today," the India Meteorological Department said.

IMD Director General K G Ramesh, however, said it was too early to forecast whether the monsoon would hit the Kerala coast ahead of schedule.

The normal onset date over Kerala, termed as the official arrival of the seasonal rainfall in India, is June 1.

Ramesh said the prevailing conditions do not suggest that monsoon could hit Kerala early simply because it has arrived early in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The normal onset date for Southwest Monsoon over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is May 17.
Mahesh Palawat, Chief Meteorologist with the Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, said monsoon is likely to hit Kerala on June 1 with an error of one-two days.

(With PTI inputs)