As predicted by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, Southwest Monsoon continues to bring rain in South India but the intensity has decreased in last 24 hours. Yesterday, light rainfall occurred at many places over Andaman and Nicobar Islands, parts of Kerala and Karnataka.
Here’s a look at the rainfall figures in a span of 24 hours from 8.30 am on Friday:
Rain in Kerala- Alapuzha 14.6 mm, Kannur 12.6 mm, Kochi 19.2 mm, Kottayam 6.4 mm, Kozhikode 41.7 mm and Thiruvananthapuram 3.7 mm of rain.
Rain in Karnataka- Belgaum 24.6 mm, Gulbarga 33 mm, Honnavar 9.4 mm and Gagdag 17.9 mm.
In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Port Blair received good showers recording 143.9 mm of rain.
As the Monsoon system in the Arabian Sea has strengthened further rain will pick up once again. It is likely to become a well-marked low pressure area in next 24 hours. The system will not come closer to the coast but will direct the flow of moisture laden winds to the west coast and bring good amounts of Monsoon rain along the west coast extending up to Mumbai.
With an error margin of ± days, Southwest Monsoon could reach Mumbai by the 12th of June. Considering that this is an El Nino year, one cannot entirely rely on set methods to indicate the onset date of the Monsoon. “Effects of El Nino are well known and well-studied by weathermen across the globe by now, but what changes it might bring in the onset dates of Southwest Monsoon in India are yet to be well researched”, says AVM (Retd) G.P Sharma. “El Nino in India may not just affect the overall monsoon performance, increasing or decrease rainfall in a region, it may also have a huge impact on date of onset”, he further added.
