Monsoon misses onset date in Kerala; conditions becoming favourable: IMD

The monsoon missed its onset date in Kerala on Sunday with the India Meteorological Department anticipating a further delay of three to four days.

The southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala on June 1 with a standard deviation of about seven days.

In mid May, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said it might arrive in Kerala by June 4.

In a statement on Sunday, the IMD said, "Conditions (are) becoming favourable with the increase in westerly winds over the south Arabian Sea. Also, the depth of westerly winds is gradually increasing and today, June 4, the depth of westerlies has reached up to 2.1 kilometres above the mean sea level.

"The cloud mass over the southeast Arabian sea is also increasing. We expect that these favourable conditions for monsoon onset over Kerala will further improve during the next three-four days. It is being monitored continuously and further updates will be provided tomorrow (Monday)."

Scientists, however, said the delay is unlikely to impac