THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The India Meteorological Department has forecast the strengthening of monsoon in the coming days as the weather conditions on the west coast have become favourable for more showers. The department issued yellow alerts for most districts till July 2 as the state received widespread rain on Thursday. As per the forecast, the northern districts will get widespread rain till July 4. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has issued a lightning warning for Friday.
A weather expert with the authority says a host of factors have helped in the steady rain. “The strengthening of westerly winds, favourable phase of Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), formation of offshore trough and typhoon Chaba developed over the West Pacific have created a favourable condition for rain,” said Rajeevan Erikkulam, meteorologist with the KSDMA.
According to him, the coastal regions and interior parts will receive more rain as the strength of wind increases. He, however, cautioned that the trajectory of the typhoon will be a major determinant in the monsoon strengthening further. The typhoon could influence the flow of winds. Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a group of clouds and its movement will affect the weather pattern. It has turned into a favourable phase (phase 3), though a bit weak, over the Bay of Bengal, said Rajeevan.
The northern districts in the state have been getting more rainfall due to the impact of an ‘offshore trough’ over North Karnataka to South Gujarat. The developments in weather conditions will result in more rainfall in other states than in Kerala, said Rajeevan.
Nevertheless, the widespread rain came as a welcome relief after this June turned out to be the driest in the last 46 years. This year, the state received less than half of the rainfall it receives on average in June, despite an early onset of monsoon on May 29. Meanwhile, states such as Tamil Nadu received over 50% rainfall. The states such as Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana received normal rainfall.