KOCHI: Nearly 40 days after its arrival, the Southwest monsoon gained strength across Kerala on Thursday.
The revival of monsoon brought cheers to the state which has been staring at power crisis due to depleting water level in reservoirs. While the south and central Kerala received incessant rainfall over the past couple of days, the monsoon was weak over northern parts of the state.
However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert of thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rain in Kannur, Wayanad, Malappuram and Kozhikode for Friday.
The IMD has forecast vigorous monsoon conditions with widespread rainfall ranging from heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across the state till Sunday.
Alappuzha received 7.4 cm rainfall while Kottayam, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram got 5.9 cm, 5.52 cm and 3.5 cm rainfall in that order during the past couple of days.
The Fisheries Department has issued an alert advising fishermen not to venture into the sea during the next couple of days.
The sea is expected to be rough, with high waves (2.9 m to 3.3 m) lashing the coast, said an alert issued by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services.
Meanwhile, the season’s rain deficit stood at 48 per cent on Thursday. Idukki, the state’s powerhouse, received 62 per cent less rainfall from June 1 to July 18.
While the normal rainfall is 1,286 mm, the district received only 484.5 mm rainfall during the period. Wayanad recorded 60 per cent deficit rainfall followed by Pathanamthitta, which recorded 58 per cent rainfall.