Kerala gets early monsoon

• The southwest monsoon has arrived in Kerala, a week earlier than the normal onset date and three days earlier than the predicted May 27.

• This is the earliest the monsoon has reached Kerala since 2009.

• The monsoon is expected to push further into Goa, parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, parts of the west-central and north Bay of Bengal, north-eastern India, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and Sikkim within the next three days.

• A pre-cyclonic storm over the Konkan-Goa coast could have aided the monsoon’s early onset.

• The strength of the monsoon currents will determine the monsoon’s arrival in other parts of India.