New Delhi: India’s monsoon onset over the southernmost Kerala coast is delayed by another two-three days because the formation of cyclonic circulation in the Arabian Sea has reduced cloud cover over the Kerala coast.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) was expecting the arrival of monsoon rains over the Kerala coast on June 4, the latest arrival in four years.
A senior IMD official said the development of cyclonic circulation over the southeast Arabian Sea has been pulling moisture out of Kerala coast.
The monsoon could arrive in the next two-three days, the official said, offering relief to farmers keenly waiting for the start of the wet season which is crucial for summer crops.
Nearly half of India’s farmlands, without any irrigation cover, depend on the annual June-September rains to grow several crops.
Sowing of rice, cotton, corn, soybean could be delayed
The monsoon’s late start could delay the planting of rice, cotton, corn, soybean and sugar cane.
The monsoon should pick up momentum and cover the entire country on time, said another official..
“Let’s hope it will move quickly once it sets over Kerala,” he said.
India’s weather office has forecast below average rains for June, with the monsoon expected to pick up in July, August and September.
However, for the entire four-month season, the IMD has forecast an average amount of rain despite the formation of a possible El Nino weather phenomenon.
The emergence of a strong El Nino triggered back-to-back droughts in 2014 and 2015 for only the fourth time in over a century, driving some Indian farmers into extreme poverty.
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