The southwest monsoon is expected to advance further over Andhra Pradesh and hit the city in the next two days. According to meteorologists, the heavy rain that lashed the city on Thursday night was pre-monsoon thunder-storm activity. Usually, the monsoon sets in over Hyderabad on June 8. This year, the monsoon hit the Kerala coast on May 31, earlier than expected, but its advance was was stalled last week because of the formation of the super-cyclone Phet over the Arabian Sea.
“The monsoon will cover most parts of Rayalaseema and Telangana after which it is expected to hit the city,” said Mr Satya Kumar, the director of the Hyderabad Meteorological Department (HMD). Rains have already started in some districts in coastal Andhra, and conditions are favourable for its advance to other coastal areas and Rayalaseema in the next two days.
“A low pressure area persists over the west-central Bay of Bengal and its neighbourhood and is likely to strengthen the monsoon current as it moves towards AP,” said a meteorologist. The state has not experienced any significant rainfall in the last 24 hours. The IMD foresees the possibility of an upper air cyclonic circulation forming over east-central and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal.
This is helping the monsoon pick up pace and advance to all parts of the state. Experts also said that the north coastal region of AP could expect rains by June 14 and also predicted that this year’s monsoon could turn out to be a good one. However, Professor Bhanukumar of AU cautioned that Vishakapatnam may not get the expected rainfall because of rise in pollution in the city.
The cyclone warning centre has observed a sudden reduction in temperatures on the coastal belt, right from Nellore to Srikakulam. This could also be ascribed to the low pressure over the Bay of Bengal.
