Thiruvananthapuram: Southwest monsoon intensified in Kerala with various parts of the state receiving heavy rain. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert in six districts on Tuesday – Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasaragod.
A yellow alert indicates heavy rainfall ranging from 64.5 to 115.5 mm within 24 hours.
The weather body also forecast heavy rain accompanied by thundershowers in most parts of Kerala till July 5.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Centre has warned about ‘Kallakadal’ phenomenon along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu coast till 11.30 pm on Wednesday.
In view of the adverse weather conditions and rough sea, fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea off the Kerala-Karnataka-Lakshadweep coasts till July 2.
India records below-normal rainfall in June
India recorded below-normal rainfall in June, with the deficit standing at 11 per cent, the highest in five years, the IMD said on Monday. According to the Met department, the country received 147.2 mm of rainfall against a normal of 165.3 mm for the month, the seventh lowest since 2001. June rainfall accounts for 15 per cent of the total precipitation of 87 cm recorded during the four-month monsoon season in India.
After making an early onset over Kerala and the northeastern region on May 30, and progressing normally up to Maharashtra, the monsoon lost momentum, extending the wait for rains in West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, and worsening the impact of a scorching heat wave in northwest India.
The IMD reported that northwest India recorded a 33 per cent rainfall deficit, central India a 14 per cent deficit, and east and northeast India a 13 per cent deficit. Only south India recorded surplus rains (14 per cent) in June.
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