Monsoon likely to hit Kerala on June 4, expect less rainfall: Skymet

Monsoon likely to hit Kerala on June 4, expect less rainfall: Skymet
Rains usually lash Kerala around June 1 and cover the whole country by mid-July.

New Delhi: Monsoon rains are expected to arrive on the Kerala coast on June 4 and deliver less rainfall than average in 2019, the country's only private weather forecasting agency said on Tuesday, dampening prospects of higher farm and economic growth.

Rains usually lash Kerala around June 1 and cover the whole country by mid-July. Timely rains trigger planting of crops such as rice, soybeans and cotton.

"All the four regions are going to witness lesser than normal rainfall, this season. East and Northeast India and central parts will be poorer than Northwest India and South Peninsula. Onset of monsoon will be around June 4. It seems that initial advancement of monsoon over peninsular India is going to be slow," Skymet CEO Jatin Singh said.

Monsoon is expected to reach Andaman and Nicobar island on May 22.

Last month, Skymet had predicted a below normal monsoon for the season with a Long Period Average of 93 per cent, subject to the error margin of 5 per cent.

The country is likely to receive 93% rainfall of the long period average, Skymet said in a statement.

The monsoon season delivers about 70% of India's annual rainfall and is key to the success of the farm sector in Asia's third-biggest economy.

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