Monsoon makes India entry, hit Nicobar Islands

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The Southwest monsoon  reached the Indian shores on Sunday as it made its onset over the Nicobar Islands, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The weather office said “Southwest monsoon has advanced into some parts of the Maldives, and the Comorin area and some parts of the South Bay of Bengal, Nicobar Islands and South Andaman Sea on Sunday.”

The monsoon is expected to hit the mainland on May 31 when it hits Kerala. The normal date for hitting the mainland is June 1. The rain-bearing system arrived in the southern state on June 8 last year, May 29 in 2022, June 3 in 2021 and June 1 in 2020.

The meteorological department has forecast above normal monsoon this year, with favourable La Nina conditions over Pacific Ocean. These conditions help in a good monsoon season over India.

The monsoon in 2023 was below normal and several states faced drough-like conditions. Water level at reserviors in south, west and eartern India are at around 25% capacity, leading to shortage in irrigation water. Several parts of the country are currently in the grip of heatwave with temperature hovering around 48 degees. Southern India experienced heatwave spells in April.

A prediction of above-normal monsoonal rainfall, therefore, comes as a huge relief to the fast-developing South Asian nation.

The monsoon is critical for India’s agricultural landscape, with 52 per cent of the net cultivated area relying on it. It is also crucial for replenishing reservoirs critical for drinking water, apart from power generation across the country. June and July are considered the most important monsoon months for agriculture because most of the sowing for the kharif crop takes place during this period.

(With inputs from PTI)