The Southwest monsoon is likely to be delayed this year, with the onset expected in Kerala on June 6 instead of June 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Wednesday in its monsoon onset forecast for 2019. The delay, meteorologists said, is due to the presence of a strong mid-latitude regime which is preventing the otherwise smooth entry of the monsoon currents from over the Bay of Bengal. “The tropical regime or simply the monsoon currents are being oppressed by the prevailing mid-latitude regime, which is why these currents may take longer to establish over the mainland. Even after the monsoon onset over Kerala, its progress, according to the IMD, will remain slow owing to these conditions. “If there are conducive local weather conditions formed after the monsoon onset, the progress to other parts may even take the normal course.

Source: Indian Express May 15, 2019 23:03 UTC