Monsoon hits Kerala, may enter rajasthan 20 June 2012

South-west monsoon, the lifeline of the country's agri-based economy, on Tuesday reached Kerala but with a weak current which may not bring enough rains to peninsular India."Monsoon rains have reached Kerala," Laxman Singh Rathore, Director General, India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in New Delhi. He said conditions were favourable for further advance of monsoon into some more parts of the central Arabian Sea, coastal Karnataka, Goa and parts of south Konkan.

South-west mansoon is one of main source of rain in western and whole rajasthan which takes nearly 15 days to reach rajasthan from Kerala. The possible date for mansoon to enter in Rajasthan is approx. 20 June 2012.  IMD officials brushed aside concerns over delay and insisted that the progress of the monsoon was well within the limits of the forecast model. Monsoon trackers said Mumbai could get its first seasonal rainfall by the weekend but the same could not be said about interior parts of the peninsular region. IMD data showed Thiruvananthapuram in southern Kerala getting very little rains as compared to central and northern parts of the state. Good rains in June are crucial for agriculture operations in south peninsular region, including Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and parts of Maharashtra. Monsoon rains are crucial for agriculture as only 40 per cent of the cultivable area is under irrigation.