The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted that the Southwest Monsoon would arrive early this year on Thursday (May 12, 2022). The first seasonal showers are forecast to hit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on May 15, according to the weather office.
"The Southwest Monsoon is expected to move into the South Andaman Sea and surrounding Southeast Bay of Bengal around May 15, 2022," the India Meteorological Department stated in a statement.
"Normally, the monsoon arrives on May 15 in the Nicobar Islands and by May 22 in the Andaman Islands, covering Mayabunder," said IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.
Over the next five days, the Met Office has expected rain in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as well as fairly widespread rainfall with thunderstorms, gusty winds, and lightning in Kerala-Mahe and Lakshadweep, according to Mohapatra.
On Twitter, Madhavan Rajeevan, former Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, wrote, "India Meteorological Department extended range predictions have continuously projected good circumstances for an early monsoon beginning over Kerala and its northward movement."
NW India is experiencing another heat wave.
On Thursday, temperatures in Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra exceeded 44 degrees Celsius in at least 29 cities. Summers in several parts of north India were extremely hot, with maximum temperatures reaching 48 degrees Celsius in Barmer, Rajasthan.