TRIVANDRUM, India, 27 May 2006 — The annual summer monsoon rains, crucial to the health of India’s economy, yesterday hit India’s southwestern Kerala coast six days ahead of schedule. All parts of the state received moderate to heavy showers. The trend will continue for the next 48 hours, meteorological office director K. Santhosh said here. The winds were blowing at speeds of between 25 and 30 knots.
The June-September southwest monsoon is the main source of water for farming, which generates about a fifth of India’s gross domestic product. Slightly deficient rains were forecast for this year.
The monsoon arrived a week ago in the southern island group of Car Nicobar in the Andamans archipelago. The rains are likely to strike the eastern state of Orissa on June 10.
June 1 is the scheduled date for the onset of the monsoon in Kerala and it takes around 28 days for the rains to reach India’s parched northern plains.
