IMD says monsoon may reach Kerala by May 27; cyclonic system to trigger rain in Telangana

A cyclonic circulation over the southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas is set to bring widespread rainfall across Telangana and southern India in the coming days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday, even as it projected the onset of monsoon over Kerala by May 27.

"There is an upper air cyclonic circulation over the southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas,” said K Nagaratna, Head of IMD Hyderabad. “Telangana is likely to have light to moderate rain over many places during the next 4 days. Telangana may also have thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 30-40 kmph in the next four days.” The IMD has issued yellow warnings for the state, with a dip of 3-4°C expected in day temperatures.

The update comes amid a spell of pre-monsoon showers across peninsular India, with the IMD already issuing red and orange alerts for Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu. “Heavy to very heavy rainfall has been observed over the peninsular India almost everywhere,” said RK Jenamani, IMD Senior Scientist. He listed Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana, coastal Andhra Pradesh, south Konkan, Goa, and Madhya Maharashtra as regions receiving active rain spells.

Bengaluru has already seen flooding, submerged roads, and fallen trees after a 40 mm downpour on Saturday night. Goa and Mumbai are also likely to receive very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall between May 20 and 22. “Mumbai will also receive moderate to heavy rainfall from the 21st,” Jenamani added.

Meanwhile, no significant heatwave is forecast for northern India. “The heat wave warning is only confined to Rajasthan,” Jenamani said, noting that Delhi may experience dust storms or light rain in the evenings over the next few days. 

As per the IMD, the southwest monsoon's onset over Kerala is expected around May 27, marking the beginning of the seasonal rainfall period that typically advances northward to cover the entire country by mid-July.

Heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms hammered Bengaluru on Saturday night. According to the weather department, the city received about 40 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours. Tree branches came down crashing in some parts of the state capital. Sai Layout in the city bore the brunt of the downpour with severe inundation. Household belongings in the flooded houses were soaked, vehicles partially submerged and electronic items damaged.