Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, June 8: Monsoon finally hit Kerala on Saturday, heralding the beginning of the monsoon season in India, after a week’s delay, informed the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).
The arrival of the southwest monsoon is a welcome reprieve for the citizens of Nagaland, providing a much-needed respite from the sweltering heat of the summer. It will also come as a relief for those from the north and central regions of India as the skies are expected to open up in those parts of the country. Extreme heat waves have been sweeping the region for weeks with temperatures soaring to more than 45 degrees.
According to the IMD, the southwest monsoon is expected to proceed towards the South Arabian Sea, Lakshadweep area and Kerala, some more parts of Tamil Nadu, Southwest, Southeast, East central and Northeast Bay of Bengal and some parts of Central Arabian Sea, West central Bay of Bengal and southern parts of the Northeast during the next 48 hours.
Normal to above normal rainfall is expected at isolated places in the north-eastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura from June 7 to the 13th. Thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and gusty winds (40-50 kmph) is also expected at isolated places over Tamil Nadu, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, North interior Karnataka, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Pradesh in the days ahead.
The southwest monsoon, which occurs from the month of June to September, is primarily responsible for the productivity of the kharif crops in India. The agricultural sector is therefore heavily dependent on the arrival of this monsoon.