Southwest Monsoon Hits Andaman Sea, Odisha Looks Skyward For Relief From Sweltering Heat

Bhubaneswar: The Southwest Monsoon has advanced into the south Bay of Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed on Monday.

The MeT office had already predicted an early monsoon this year. “This year, the onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala is likely to be earlier than the normal date of onset. The monsoon onset over Kerala is likely to be on May 27 with a model error of four days,” the IMD had said.

This has been attributed to Cyclone Asani which brought in moisture over the region in plenty. The cross-equatorial flow too had picked up, aiding the monsoon currents to progress over the Andaman Sea earlier than normal, it added.

The islands are likely to experience enhanced rainfall with heavy spells (64.5 mm to 115.4 mm in 24 hours) with southwest monsoon winds gaining strength in the coming days.

However, the western part of Odisha continues to reel under intense heat due to strong southwesterly winds from the Bay of Bengal to northeast and eastern India, despite thunderstorm and rainfall activities. On Sunday, 12 towns, mostly in interior western Odisha, recorded a maximum temperature of over 40 degrees Celsius with Sonepur being the hottest at 43.3 degrees Celsius.

Thunderstorm with lightning and gusty surface wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph are very likely to occur at one or two places in Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Kalahandi and Thunderstorm with lightning very likely to occur at one or two places over the districts of Rayagada, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Balangir, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal till 8.30 am on Tuesday. A few places in South Interior Odisha, Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur and one or two places in the rest districts of Odisha are likely to experience light rain during this period.

Yellow warning of thunderstorm and lightning has been sounded till May 18. However, the IMD has forecast no large change in the day temperature at many in Odisha during the next 4-5 days.

Odisha is now hoping for an early monsoon, which usually takes 10 to 12 days to arrive in Odisha after hitting the Kerala coast, to bring down the temperature.

Centre for Environment and Climate (CEC), SOA University, director Sarat Chandra Sahu told TNIE that some models are indicating a continuous lowering of daytime temperature in Odisha in the first week of June. “This might occur due to the early onset of monsoon over the state. More details can be ascertained in the coming days,” he added.