The southwest monsoon has covered the entire Andaman and Nicobar Islands a week in advance and is likely to cause widespread rainfall over the region in the next five days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Wednesday.
The monsoon is expected to arrive at least a week early in Kerala, marking its onset over the Indian mainland; it usually arrives in Kerala on June 1.
“Monsoon winds are strong over Andaman region and there are very good pre-monsoon showers over Kerala and Karnataka which will continue. There is a cyclonic circulation over Kerala and in the neighbouring areas. The onset over Kerala as forecast will be early,” Mahesh Palawat, vice president, climate change and meteorology, Skymet Weather, said.
The southwest monsoon, which arrived over the islands on May 16, has advanced into remaining parts of the region, the entire Andaman sea, east central Bay of Bengal and more parts of south Bay of Bengal. Due to a strong cross equatorial flow from Bay of Bengal to Andaman Sea in lower tropospheric levels, widespread rainfall is likely over the islands in the next five days, IMD added.
Conditions are also becoming favourable for further advancement of monsoon into other parts of south and central Bay of Bengal and some parts of south Arabian Sea in the next two to three days. Isolated heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds are likely over Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the next four days, it said.
Squally weather with wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph, is likely over Andaman Sea, southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining central Bay of Bengal in the next three days, it added.
With the gradual advancement of the monsoon, heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected over Kerala and coastal and south interior Karnataka in the next two days.
A cyclonic circulation over north interior Tamil Nadu and in the neighbourhood, extending upto the middle tropospheric levels, and a north-south trough running from central Madhya Pradesh to interior Tamil Nadu in lower tropospheric levels are likely to cause widespread light/moderate rainfall with isolated thunderstorm/lightning/gusty winds over Kerala-Mahe, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Lakshadweep and Rayalaseema (in Andhra Pradesh) in the next five days.
Isolated heavy to very heavy fall is likely over Kerala-Mahe, coastal and south interior Karnataka on May 19, IMD said.
Meanwhile, heatwave conditionsare likely to prevail over northwest and central India for the next two to three days, the weather body said. Maximum temperatures are likely to rise by 2-3 degree Celsius over northwest India and Madhya Pradesh in the next three days and fall by 2-4 degree Celsius thereafter.
No significant change is likely in maximum temperatures over rest parts of the country.
Heat wave conditions are also likely in isolated pockets over Rajasthan, south Punjab, south Haryana and Madhya Pradesh on May 19 and 20, Vidarbha from May 18 to 21 and over Odisha on May 22, IMD said.
“We can expect heatwave conditions till May 21 followed by a lot of clouding associated with a western disturbance and large scale strengthening of easterly winds. Maximum temperatures can go up to 45 degree Celsius in between,” RK Jenamani, senior scientist, national weather forecasting centre, IMD, said.
