The southwest monsoon will hit the Kerala coast on May 30, two days before its normal onset, heralding its arrival in India this year. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a normal monsoon in 2010, after a year of severe drought.
Minister of state for earth sciences Prithviraj Chavan told reporters on Friday the IMD forecasts the first monsoon showers in Kerala on May 30. Earth sciences ministry secretary Shailesh Nayak said the IMD’s forecasts on the monsoon’s onset in Kerala had proved accurate for the past five years on the basis of an indigenously-developed model.
The monsoon’s onset will come as major relief for millions of farmers who experienced tough times last year due to drought. Sowing of crops like rice, soyabean and sugarcane will be on schedule if the monsoon continues on course. Another reason to be upbeat about the monsoon is the fading of the “El Nino” effect. Observatories worldwide have been saying that major El Nino indicators were below the threshold limits.