If you live in India, you already know how brutal this summer has been. Everyone is sweating and desperately waiting for the rain.
A little while ago, the weather department gave us some great news. They said the monsoon would arrive early in Kerala around May 26. Since the usual date is June 1, everyone got excited.
But May 26 has come and gone, and the heavy rains aren’t here yet. Now, experts say the monsoon is delayed and will likely arrive between June 2 and June 4.
Why the sudden delay? Why is the rain late?
Predicting the weather is really hard. To officially say the monsoon has started, scientists have to check a few specific boxes. It has to rain heavily across most of Kerala for two days straight, the wind needs to blow in the right direction, and there needs to be a certain amount of thick cloud cover.
Right now, those things just haven’t happened yet. Even when the rain does finally start in June, experts think it will move pretty slowly at first. It won’t instantly cover the rest of the country.
Rain in the South, Extreme Heat in the North
Even though it’s not “officially” monsoon season yet, Kerala is already getting plenty of heavy pre-monsoon rain. In fact, some areas have warnings to prepare for big storms this week.
But if you look at North and Central India, it’s a completely different story. India remained the hottest country on planet earth for multiple days this summer. 95 out of hundred hottest cities were in India. Cities like New Delhi are absolutely baking in a massive heat wave. Temperatures are regularly crossing 45°C during the day, and even the nights are super hot. For people living there, a delay of even a few days feels miserable.
Should we worry?
A delay of a few days happens all the time and isn’t a huge deal. It doesn’t mean the whole rainy season is ruined.
However, there is a bigger issue to watch out for. Weather experts mentioned that this year’s total rainfall might be lower than usual. This is because of “El Niño,”a warming of the ocean that usually blocks or reduces monsoon rains in India.
For now, we just have to be patient and keep waiting for the first week of June.
This article is written by Yashasvi M, a student of St. Francis College for Women, interning with Deccan Chronicle.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
