By IANS
New Delhi : The annual monsoon, that brings in bountiful and much-awaited rains to India and has been the muse for poets and painters, is predicted to strike the Kerala coast Sunday, four days ahead of its normally scheduled date of arrival on June 1, it was announced Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the India Meteorological Department had predicted that monsoon would hit Kerala May 24. This prediction was revised to May 27 following some cyclonic formations over the Bay of Bengal.
"Because of the above meteorological conditions, the monsoon onset over Kerala is not likely during next 3-4 days," a Met official said.
"It may be mentioned that monsoon is a planetary scale system and exhibits sporadic variations. India Meteorological Department is constantly monitoring its progress and updates will be issued regularly."
This year, the monsoon had set in over Andaman Sea and southeast Bay of Bengal on May 10, about a week earlier than the normal. But subsequent developments in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal disrupted the entire monsoon flow, the official added.
From Kerala the monsoon travels upwards to the parched central Indian plans and is expected to bring rains to New Delhi by the end of June.