The Hindu Business Line : Monsoon may extend till end of this month

THE three-month-old southwest monsoon, now negotiating the home stretch riding the crest of a Bay-generated system, is expected to run through the whole of September before tapering to a regulation close.

Under the influence of a cyclonic circulation in the Bay of Bengal traced to the Andhra coast, a fresh bout of wet weather has been unleashed over the southern peninsula since early Sunday morning. Meteorologists consider this probably the last spell of the southwest monsoon bringing to an end a season that began promisingly enough, only to falter midway.

An early August flourish saw the monsoon recovering some lost ground, but only just about. Exactly how much will become known after stocktaking at the end of the season, according to seasoned weather watchers.

The current revival phase of the monsoon is expected to last for 15-20 days, according to Dr M. Rajeevan, Director, Forecasting, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Pune. A brisk start to the proceedings saw some of the heaviest showers lashing the southern districts of Kerala, particularly Thiruvananthapuram, which recorded 12 cm of rain in just nine hours on Monday.

The skies have since cleared, as have overflowing storm water drains, with the rain-belt heading for the northern districts. It was expected to progress further north beyond the State's borders in the days to come. According to Dr Rajeevan, Central regions can expect heavy precipitation during the weekend.

Asked why the southern districts of Kerala find themselves falling under a "rain shadow" after hosting a brisk spell most of the time, he said it might have to do with the orientation of the monsoon flow. "It is very difficult to say why southern parts of Kerala don't get enough rain. Climatologically, however, southern parts receive less rainfall compared to the north," he added.

Though this may be the last spell of the season, Kerala could look forward to another busy period during the `reverse monsoon' in October-December.