Monsoon to hit Kerala coast by 3 June: IMD

The southwestern monsoon is expected to hit the Kerala coast by 3 June, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The IMD forecast the onset of rains in the peninsula with an error margin of four days.

The arrival of monsoon rains this year round is expected to be delayed and erratic as well. Monsoon rains normally hit peninsular India on 1 June every year. However, last year, the monsoon had touched the Kerala coast four days after expected date of 1 June.

IMD has already predicted that monsoon this time is most likely to be normal although with lags in regions. IMD expects the average rainfall to be 98 per cent of the normal long period average (LPA) of 89 cm during the four-month season starting 1 June to 30 September.

Last year the monsoon was below normal at 92 per cent of LPA at 81.9 cm, though the forecast was 99 per cent.

The slight delay in the onset of rains is on account of a cyclone currently on the east coast, which should fizzle out this week.

A good monsoon is crucial for the agriculture, which accounts for around 15 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), as 70 per cent of the farmlands are rain-fed.