IMD forecasts delayed monsoons

Our Economy Bureau
19 May 2005

New Delhi: India''s monsoon rains are likely to be delayed by a week, a met department official said on Wednesday.

The June-September monsoon normally hits the Kerala coast on June 1, and then winds takes its course up to the rest of the country. It covers the entire country by July 15.

The annual monsoon is crucial for India''s economy as a majority of its billion-plus population relies on farming to earn a living.

"Seeing all the parameters, we feel that the monsoon will be delayed by about seven days," an Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) spokesman said.

"It is likely to hit the Kerala coast on June 7 with a forecast error of three days," he said. "The monsoon normally sets in over the south Andaman sea on May 15. But this has not happened. The flow of monsoon current is not there. So there is a delay.

"In spite of the expected delay in monsoon onset over Kerala, the 2005 monsoon seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole is expected to be near normal as given in the IMD''s first forecast," An IMD office statement said.