Visakhapatnam: The southwest monsoon is likely to set in over Kerala on May 27, four days in advance of its normal date of June 1.
If so, there will be rain in Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh by June 1 and it will take another week for Visakhapatnam and north Andhra region to experience it.
IMD on Friday announced that the onset of the southwest monsoon this time is likely to be earlier than the normal date of onset. The monsoon clouds will set in over South Andaman Sea and adjoining Bay of Bengal on May 15 and Kerala on May 27, it said.
This prediction was done with a model error of four days on either side.
Under normal circumstances, the southwest monsoon arrives in Kerala on June 1 and in Rayalaseema region on June 4 or 5. Last year, the Southwest Monsoon covered the entire AP on June 10, five days after it arrived over the Rayalaseema region.
The weatherman said the cyclone Asani that impacted parts of AP, Odisha and West Bengal with rain and winds has helped in pulling the monsoon currents into the Bay of Bengal a little early.
In association with the enhanced cross-equatorial winds, conditions are now favourable for the advance of the southwest monsoon into the South Andaman Sea, the Nicobar Islands and parts of the southeast Bay of Bengal around May 15, the IMD said.
The normal date for the arrival over the Andaman Sea is May 21.
Director of IMD-Amaravati- Stella S said the monsoons behave differently every year. “It moves depending on the weather conditions. Hence, it is too early to predict the quantum of rainfall during the southwest monsoon in 2022,” she said.
The IMD report earlier forecast the above-normal rainfall for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
AP had recorded a total of 613.3mm of rainfall between June 1 and September 30 last year, which was 19 per cent more than the normal 514mm. In 2020, AP had recorded a total of 738.2mm rainfall between June 1 and September 30, which was 44 per cent more than the normal 514mm.
Meanwhile, the temperature fell sharply in many parts of the state, giving a huge relief to the people. It fell by 7.4 degree C in Ongole, 7.1 degree C in Kadapa, 7.3 degree C in Kavali and 6.1 degree C in Nellore.
