MONSOON SEASON

After arriving at the Kerala Coast two days behind the schedule, the Southwest Monsoon has hit early across some areas of south peninsular and central India.

Important points:

• Cyclone Yaas, formed in the Bay of Bengal in May, helped in bringing the crucial southwest monsoon winds over the Andaman Sea..
• As a rule-of-thumb, the monsoon makes its onset over Kerala roughly ten days after it makes its advent over the south Andaman sea.
• After delaying in Kerala, fast progress was mainly due to strong westerly winds from the Arabian Sea, and also the formation of a low-pressure system over the North Bay of Bengal, that currently lies over eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
• An off-shore trough, prevailing between Maharashtra and Kerala, has helped the monsoon arrive early over Karnataka, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and southern Gujarat.
• Over Northwest India, the monsoon becomes active only when the monsoon currents – either from the Arabian Sea or the Bay of Bengal – reach the region. As it is not expected to happen soon, the monsoon progress will remain slow.
• Also, a stream of mid-latitude westerly winds is approaching Northwest India, which will hinder the monsoon advancement in the immediate coming days.
• The time of monsoon onset over a region has no direct impact on the rainfall quantum received during the season, or in the monsoon’s progress.
• For instance, the monsoon took 42 days in 2014 and 22 days in 2015 to cover the entire country. Even with such distinct ranges, India recorded deficient rainfall during both years.
• The early arrival of monsoon rains in central and northern India will help farmers accelerate sowing of summer-sown crops such as paddy rice, cotton, soybean and pulses, and may boost crop yields too.
• The onset of the monsoon over various parts of the country each year can be ahead of time, in time or late. These variations are generally considered normal, given the complexity of the monsoon.
• However, climate experts have linked extreme weather events like intense rainfall over a region within a short time span or prolonged dry spell during the four months (June-September) as indications of climate change.

Monsoon in India

• The climate of India is described as the ‘monsoon’ type. In Asia, this type of climate is found mainly in the south and the southeast.
• Out of a total of 4 seasonal divisions of India, monsoon occupies 2 divisions, namely:
• The southwest monsoon season – Rainfall received from the southwest monsoons is seasonal in character, which occurs between June and September.
• The retreating monsoon season – The months of October and November are known for retreating monsoons.