Monsoon ‘arrives’ in South Goa

Panaji: The southwest monsoon advanced over parts of South Goa on Friday, however weather officials said that the monsoon cannot yet be officially declared over the entire state as meteorological conditions required for onset are still absent.“Currently, conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon over the entire state over the next two to three days,” India meteorological department (IMD) Goa director Nahush Kulkarni said.Meteorologist and National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) Goa, retired chief scientist M R Ramesh Kumar said that while the northern limit of the monsoon has reached parts of Goa, the state has not yet witnessed the synoptic conditions necessary for a formal declaration of monsoon onset.“Synoptic conditions such as rainfall, upper-level winds and convection have not set in over the west coast of India, particularly over Goa,” he said.According to the weather criteria, three conditions must be fulfilled before monsoon onset can be declared. These include widespread rainfall, strong westerly winds extending from the surface up to about 5km in altitude with speeds of at least 6m per second, and the presence of deep atmospheric convection.“All three criteria have not yet been met,” Kumar said. “When we talk about the monsoon, it is essentially the establishment of strong southwesterly or westerly winds that transport large amounts of moisture over peninsular India and produce sustained rainfall.”Despite the delay in meeting all onset criteria, the advance of the monsoon this year has been swift. The monsoon reached Kerala only a day earlier on June 5 before progressing rapidly towards Goa.“This is one of the fastest progressions of the monsoon towards Goa in recent years,” Kumar said. “There have been several years when the monsoon stalled near Karwar for days before advancing into Goa. This year, the movement has been much quicker.”Meteorologists are monitoring rainfall activity, wind strength and convective development over the Arabian Sea and the west coast. Once these conditions strengthen and become sustained across Goa, the IMD is expected to formally declare the onset of the southwest monsoon over the entire state.