The southwest monsoon officially reached Kerala on Thursday, June 4, arriving over the Indian mainland three days later than its normal onset date of June 1.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the monsoon has already advanced across large parts of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal and is expected to make further progress over the next two to three days.
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Areas covered by the monsoon so far
According to the IMD, the southwest monsoon has advanced into:
1. Parts of the southwest and southeast Arabian Sea.
2. Parts of the westcentral and eastcentral Arabian Sea.
3. The entire Lakshadweep Islands.
4. Kerala and Mahe.
5. Parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
6. Parts of the Comorin area.
7. The southeast Bay of Bengal.
8. Additional parts of the southwest, westcentral, eastcentral and northeast Bay of Bengal.
As of June 4, the northern limit of the monsoon passed through 14°N/60°E, 13.5°N/65°E, 13°N/70°E, Mangaluru, Uthagamandalam, Kodaikanal, Thoothukudi, 8.8°N/79°E, 11°N/83°E, 14.5°N/87°E, 17.5°N/90°E, 20°N/93°E and 22°N/95°E.
Where is the monsoon headed next?
Conditions are favourable for the monsoon to advance further into the following regions over the next two to three days:
{{/usCountry}}Conditions are favourable for the monsoon to advance further into the following regions over the next two to three days:
{{/usCountry}}1. More parts of the central Arabian Sea.
2. Entire Goa.
3. Parts of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
4. Additional areas of Karnataka.
5. The remaining parts of Tamil Nadu.
6. The southwest Bay of Bengal.
7. More parts of the westcentral, eastcentral and northeast Bay of Bengal.
8. Parts of the northeastern states.
Why did the monsoon set in over Kerala?
The IMD said increased convective cloudiness over the southeast Arabian Sea during the past two days, along with strong westerly winds extending up to 4.5 km above mean sea level and widespread rainfall over Kerala, helped meet the conditions required for the onset of the southwest monsoon.
The weather department said lower-level westerly winds were blowing at around 20-25 knots and that the state had witnessed widespread rainfall with isolated heavy showers over the past two days.
“Considering all the above satisfied conditions, Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala today, 4 June 2026,” the IMD said.
HT had reported on June 2 that El Niño conditions were developing and were expected to affect global temperature and rainfall patterns, raising the risk of extreme weather events in the coming months, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).