Coast is clear: Monsoon to hit Kerala in 48 hrs

IMD: Delay Won't Affect Its Progress

Kochi/Pune: After keeping the country and the powersthat-be in the grip of anxiety, there was finally the muchawaited cause for cheer: the south-west monsoon, which should have hit Kerala by now, will arrive in the next 48 

hours, with June 6 being the farther limit, the Indian Meteorological Department in Pune said on Sunday. 

    Delayed by a full five days, met officials forecast favourable conditions for the monsoon after a week's hiatus over the Arabian Sea. "Monsoon is likely to set in over southern parts of Kerala in the next 48 hours," said IMD director Sunitha Devi. 

    Asked if the delay would impact its progress across India, Devi said, "The delay can barely be seen as a drastic deviation. We've had instances when the monsoon has hit Kerala as late as June 18," she said. "The current delay need not necessarily lead to a progressive delay in movement across the country," she said. Economy critical, says Rangarajan 

    The Indian economy faces "a critical situation" and the government must raise prices of diesel and cooking gas and push economic reforms to revive growth, chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council C Rangarajan has said. He added that though the price hike must be done "as early as possible" to cut back on subsidies, it could be ensured that low-income groups were left out of it. P 19 Relief likely for sizzling N India soon 

Kochi/Pune: The southwest monsoon is expected to hit Kerala in the next 48 hours, the India Meteorological Department in Pune said on Sunday. 

    There appeared something for North India, reeling under blistering heat, to cheer about as well: temperatures are likely to fall in the next 24 hours. "We expect isolated dust storms and thundershowers over parts of northwest India," IMD director Sunitha Devi said. "A western disturbance has moved away from Jammu & Kashmir while another is approaching from northeast Afghanistan and Pakistan. This will trigger isolated dust storms and thundershowers in the north," she said. 

    Pilot rains may occur at many places over Lakshadweep, Kerala, coastal Karnataka, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in the next 24 hours. "Fishermen have been warned against venturing deep as strong onshore winds are likely to prevail off the coasts," said Santhosh Kumar, director, IMD Thiruvananthapuram. 

    This year, the monsoon arrived in the Andaman sea on May 23, three days later than its May 20 date. It moved northwards on May 25, to cover south and central Bay of Bengal. However, there was no movement for a week due to unfavourable weather conditions in the Arabian Sea. Strong anti-cyclonic winds had impacted flow of the south-westerly winds that bring monsoon to India. The IMD says this will change in the next 24 hours. 

    Conditions are good for monsoon to advance over parts of southeast Arabian Sea, Maldives and Comorin—the area between south of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and west of Sri Lanka and southwest Bay of Bengal. Central India, including Vidarbha, where mercury has soared to over 45 degrees, is likely to receive pre-monsoon showers around June 6 and 7 owing to rising moisture. This will bring down temperatures, the IMD director said.

MONSOON COMING SOON: A man climbs a coconut tree to collect toddy in Vyppin Island, Kochi on Sunday. The first monsoon showers are expected to hit Kerala in the next 48 hours