The monsoon rains struck the southernity coast of Kerala’s southern India on Saturday, eight days earlier than usual, marking the first arrival in 16 years and providing the promise of a harvest and a relief of an exhausting heat wave.
The monsoon, the vital element of the economy of 4 dollars of the country, offers almost 70% of the rain that India needs to water farms and reconstruct aquifers and tanks. Almost half of India’s agricultural land, without any irrigation coverage, depends on the annual rains in June-September to cultivate a number of crops.
Summer rains generally begin to unleash Kerala around June 1, before spreading to the national scale by mid-July, allowing farmers to plant crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugar cane.
The start of the southwest monsoon on Kerala on May 24 is its first start since May 23, 2009, the Meteorological Department of India (IMD) said on Saturday.
The monsoon covered the Kerala and certain parts of the neighboring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as parts of the northeast state of Mizoram, said the IMD.
The conditions are favorable for the monsoon which spreads in Goa, certain parts of the Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, the Northeast States, Western Bengal and the remaining parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the next two to three days.
The excess precipitation of Pré -Mousson and an early monsoon start will help farmers – especially in the southern and center states – to sow summer cultures earlier than usual, said Ashwini Bansod, vice -president of research on raw materials at Phillip Capital India, a brokerage based in Mumbai.
“Abundant soil humidity and early sowing could potentially increase crop yields,” said Bansod.
Last year, the monsoon reached the Kerala coast on May 30, and the summer rains overall were the highest since 2020, supporting the recovery of drought in 2023.
The IMD last month planned monsoon rains above average for the second consecutive year in 2025.
The ministry defines average or normal precipitation as going between 96% and 104% of an average of 50 years of 87 cm [35 inches] For the four -month season.
