New Delhi, May 20: South-west monsoon today advanced further covering the entire Andaman Sea and parts of Bay of Bengal as a section of scientists forecast early onset over Kerala.
“The southwest monsoon has further advanced into some parts of southwest Bay of Bengal, some more parts of southeast Bay of Bengal, some parts of east central Bay of Bengal and entire Andaman Sea,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
South-west monsoon had brought its first showers to the Andaman Sea on May 17, three day's before the normal onset date.
A section of scientists, whose predictions is used by the IMD in its ensemble forecast of monsoon, have said that the latest analysis of weather patterns indicate an early onset of monsoon over Kerala.
“...the latest initial conditions upto May 19 show that the onset may be around May 28,” they said, adding that the model error for their forecast was three days.
Earlier, the IMD had forecast onset over Kerala on June 3, a slight delay due to the recent cyclone activity over the Bay of Bengal.
Meanwhile, pre-monsoon heating of north-west and central India has started with temperatures soaring beyond 45 degrees Celsius in several parts. Heating of this landmass is required for the monsoon winds to blow upcountry and bring rains to the region.
Last month, the weather office had forecast normal monsoon this year with overall rainfall expected to be 98 per cent of the long period average.
Monsoon is crucial for the kharif crops such as rice, soyabean, cotton and maize because almost 60 per cent of the farm land in the country is rainfed.
