SW Monsoon hits Andaman three days ahead of schedule

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, May 14, 2017 (DHNS): The South West monsoon has hit the Andaman and Nicobar islands on Sunday, three days ahead of its normal schedule. “The south west monsoon has advanced into some parts of south east Bay of Bengal, Nicobar Islands, entire south Andaman Sea and parts of north Andaman Sea on Sunday,” the IMD says in a statement.

The announcement, the met agency explained, was made on account of strengthening and deepening of south westerly winds, persistent cloudiness and rainfall, which is being seen over the islands.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall are likely in the Andaman and Nicobar islands over the next two days, during which the seas are also likely to be rough. Fishermen have been advised not to venture out in the next 48 hours.

The early arrival in the Andaman and Nicobar islands does not mean an early arrival of the monsoon on the Kerala coast, where the normal onset date is around June 1.

The meteorologists say it would be too early to predict whether the monsoon would reach the Malabar coast ahead of its time. “It takes about 13-14 days for the monsoon to reach Kerala from south Andaman. The flows on the Arabian side are normal at the moment. We can’t say anything about the onset in Kerala now,” IMD director general K J Ramesh told DH.

Last week, scientists at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research forecast that the South West monsoon would be hitting the Eastern Ghats between June 14-22. They made the claims on the basis of their own forecast model for Indian summer monsoon.

Private weather forecaster Skymet said monsoon was likely to hit Kerala on June 1 with an error of one-two days. Last month, IMD predicted a normal South West monsoon in 2017 when the country is expected to receive 96% of the average monsoon rain, essential for summer crops.