Kerala is likely to witness the first showers of the south-west monsoon by June 8, the Indian Meteorological Department said.
“The east-west shear zone now runs roughly along Lat. 8°N between 3.1 & 3.6 km above mean sea level across Lakshadweep Maldives Comorin area. It is very likely to shift northwards gradually. In addition, an offshore trough is very likely to develop around 8th June, off Maharashtra coast to Kerala coast. In association with these favourable conditions, Southwest Monsoon is very likely to set in over Kerala around 8th June,” the IMD stated.
The monsoon is delayed by a week, as it usually arrives in the state on June 1. The delay will also impact the arrival of the monsoon in other parts of south and central India.
The Meteorological department also added that a low-pressure area is likely to form over the coast of Kerala and Karnataka coast by June 9. This trough will intensify as it moves northwestwards, the department predicted. Furthermore, an upper air cyclonic circulation between 1.5 km and 2.1 km above sea level lies over northern Kerala and neighbourhood.
For June 9, an orange alert has also been issued in Kollam and Alappuzha on June 9 when the monsoon makes landfall, and a yellow alert (heavy rain) has been issued in seven other districts.
Meanwhile, an orange alert had been issued by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority to four districts of Kerala on June 10, as monsoon is set to make landfall in two days. These alerts have been issued in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts as they are predicted to receive rainfall of maximum intensity. A yellow alert has also been issued in five districts for the same day.