The monsoon is likely to hit Kerala in the next 48 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on June 7. Rains will be brought by Cyclone Biparjoy which has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm.

The IMD has predicted heavy rainfall today in Tamil Nadu. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, it will continue until June 9 and in Kerala until June 11. Lakshwadeep will see heavy rains from June 9-11 and Karnataka on June 10 and 11.

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Light/moderate scattered to fairly widespread rainfall with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds are likely in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Lakshwadeep, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the IMD said.

The cyclone will bring a mild monsoon onset over Kerala and will be weak in its progression beyond the south peninsula. The conditions are favourable for the start of the monsoon season by June 9, the IMD added.

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This is due to the presence of westerly winds over the south Arabian Sea, an increase in the depth of westerly winds up to the middle tropospheric levels and an increase in cloudiness over areas covering the southeast Arabian Sea, Lakshwadeep and Kerala coasts.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says that conditions are becoming favourable for the onset of Monsoon over Kerala in the next 48 hours

Visuals from Thiruvananthapuram pic.twitter.com/mt39xiu1rQ— ANI (@ANI) June 7, 2023

In Thiruvananthapuram, local authorities have issued a warning to prevent fishermen from venturing into the deep sea in view of the cyclone. A fisherman told ANI that they are staying close to the shore and not going into the deep sea after there were strong winds on Tuesday night.

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The IMD has also predicted that heatwaves will likely continue over Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana for the next 4-5 days.

First Published:Jun 7, 2023 2:39 PM IST