Meteorological officials in southern India maintained Tuesday that the annual monsoon rains had already started despite a renewed dry spell which they blamed on an unexpected cyclone. The southern state of Kerala had been elated on May 28 when weather officials declared the monsoon had arrived earlier than expected — good news for the country's farm dependent economy.
But after three days of rain, the state has dried up — a phenomenon the Indian Meteorological Department in the state capital Thiruvananthapuram blamed on a cyclone in the Arabian Sea.
"The cyclonic storm over Arabian Sea came as a surprise, changing the course of the monsoon. The wind moving from the Indian Ocean to the sub-continent was lost," said department head Unnikrishna Kaimal.
Officials however insisted earlier predictions of a near normal monsoon season still held despite the temporary disruption.
The monsoon, which lasts from June to September, is considered normal if the rains equal 98 percent to 102 percent of the annual average.
"We expect the rains to be around 95 percent or near normal," B.P. Yadav, a weather official in New Delhi, told AFP.
The monsoon brings around 80 percent of India's annual rainfall, vital for a farm economy which employs more than 60 percent of the Indian workforce and generates over a fifth of India's gross domestic product but lacks adequate irrigation facilities.
Source: Agence France-Presse
