Bhubaneswar: The southwest monsoon is expected to arrive over Kerala ahead of its normal date, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.
This year, the southwest monsoon is likely to set over Kerala on May 27, with a model error of four days, the IMD said.
The normal date of the monsoon onset over Kerala is June 1. Thereafter, the monsoon rains progress northwards and cover the entire country by mid-July.
With its early advance, the southwest monsoon may also hit Odisha ahead of the expected date. Last year, the southwest monsoon had arrived in Odisha on June 8, four days ahead of schedule. This year the monsoon reached the state four days earlier than normal scheduled date.
Last week, the weather agency had said that the monsoon was expected to arrive over the south Andaman Sea and neighbouring areas around May 13, if realised, then early by a week. Around this time, the ocean-atmospheric conditions are in favour of early arrival and on-time advance of monsoon over the country, the IMD had said.