Southwest monsoon arrives in Maharashtra, earliest onset in 35 years
The monsoon rains usually begin in the state around June 7 and in Mumbai on June 11.
The southwest monsoon arrived over Maharashtra on Sunday, said the India Meteorological Department.
This is the earliest onset of the season in the state in 35 years, according to PTI. The southwest monsoon had arrived over Maharashtra in 1990 on May 20, the news agency quoted India Meteorological Department scientist Sushma Nair as saying.
The southwest monsoon season generally begins in June and starts to retreat by September. The India Meteorological Department declares the onset of the season when it hits Kerala. It usually arrives over Maharashtra around June 7 and Mumbai on June 11.
However, the onset of the season in Kerala took place eight days ahead of the usual June 1-mark. This was the earliest date of the monsoon onset over Kerala since 2009, when it arrived on May 24.
On Sunday, the monsoon advanced into more parts of Karnataka, entire Goa, some parts of Maharashtra, and some more parts of Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland, said the India Meteorological Department.
“Conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of central Arabian Sea, some more parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai, Karnataka including Bengaluru, some parts of Andhra Pradesh, remaining parts of Tamil Nadu, some more parts of west-central and North Bay of Bengal and some more parts of Northeastern states during next three days,” the weather agency added.
Red alert in Kerala
The weather agency on Monday issued a red alert warning of extremely heavy rainfall for 11 districts in Kerala.
The districts are Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod.
Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha were issued an orange alert.
Authorities have declared a holiday for educational institutions in 10 of these districts, Mathrubhumi reported.
Heavy rain alert in Telangana
The India Meteorological Department has also issued a heavy rain alert for eight districts of Telangana, reported The Hindu.
The districts where heavy rain is expected on Monday are Adilabad, Nirmal, Nizamabad, Vikarabad, Sangareddy, Medak, Kamareddy and Mahabubnagar.
Hyderabad and surrounding areas are likely to receive moderate rains.
