The southwest monsoon officially arrived in Kerala on Thursday, June 4, arriving on the Indian mainland three days after its usual start date of June 1.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said the monsoon has already advanced across large parts of the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal and is expected to make further progress in the next two-three days.
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Areas affected by monsoon so far
According to IMD, the southwest monsoon has progressed to:
1. Parts of the southwestern and southeastern Arabian Sea.
2. Parts of the Midwest and Middle East of the Arabian Sea.
3. The entire Lakshadweep Islands.
4. Kerala and Mahe.
5. Parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
6. Parts of the Qamarain region.
7. Southeastern Bay of Bengal.
8. Additional parts of the southwest, midwest, middle east and northeastern Bay of Bengal.
As of June 4, the northern limit of the monsoon passed through 14°N/60°E, 13.5°N/65°E, 13°N/70°E, Mangaluru, Uthagamandalam, Kodaikanal, Thoothukudi, 8.8°N/79°E, 11°N/83°E, 14.5°N/ 87 degrees east. 17.5°N/90°E, 20°N/93°E and 22°N/95°E.
Where does the monsoon go next?
Conditions are favorable for the monsoon to advance further in the following areas during the next two to three days:
1. More parts of the Middle Arabian Sea.
2. Entire Goa.
3. Parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
4. Additional districts in Karnataka.
5. The remaining parts of Tamil Nadu.
6. Southwest Bay of Bengal.
7. More parts of the Midwest, Middle East and Northeastern Bay of Bengal.
8. Parts of the northeastern states.
Why did the monsoon start in Kerala?
The IMD said that increasing convective clouds over the southeast Arabian Sea over the past two days, coupled with strong westerly winds extending up to 4.5 km above mean sea level and widespread rainfall over Kerala, helped meet the conditions required for the onset of the southwest monsoon.
The Meteorological Department said that low-level westerly winds were blowing at a speed of 20 to 25 knots and the state witnessed widespread rainfall with isolated heavy rainfall over the past two days.
“Considering all the above conditions, the southwest monsoon has started sweeping Kerala today, June 4, 2026,” the IMD said.
HT had reported on June 2 that El Niño conditions are developing and are expected to affect global temperatures and precipitation patterns, increasing the risk of extreme weather events in the coming months, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
