The Hindu Business Line : `No cause for panic on monsoon'

EVEN as the southwest monsoon continues to lie dormant over Goa where it was traced last five days ago, weathermen say there is nothing to panic and that this is only one of the many stages of evolution of the seasonal weather system over land.

Large and predominating west-northwesterly systems have interfered with the progress of the comparatively weaker monsoon currents over the last few days, a top official of the Department of the Science and Technology told Business Line on condition of anonymity. Things do not look good in the short-term, he said.

The rampaging west-northwesterlies should die down or move northwards over the next couple of days, steering clear of the normal path of progress of the monsoon. "Till then, we will have to wait and watch the weather as it unfolds."

The interfering systems are not normally observed during monsoon. The official said these are identified mostly with winter or even pre-monsoon seasons. They originate from somewhere near the Mediterranean Sea and move eastwards so far across to reach India and sustain for so long as conditions suit them.

And weather over the subcontinent has provided ideal conditions for the invading systems to prosper. The weak monsoon only gifted them the perfect ruse to continue to predominate, blocking the progress of the southwesterlies. The resulting dry currents have only helped heat up the land and fan up a heat wave sweeping much of north India for sometime now.

Meanwhile, southwesterly wind speeds have continued to be below par, according to Mr Bhaskaran Nair, Director-In-Charge at the Met Office, Thiruvananthapuram. After onset was declared on June 5, the speeds have largely flagged, falling well short of the threshold 25-knots. This also forced the fizzling out of the first monsoon pulse within five days.

Kerala and Lakshadweep, however, continued to witness some rain activity on Monday thanks mainly to the sea level trough situated along the Kerala-South Konkan coast. Wet weather has been forecast for the Andamans and Nicobar Islands for the next two days. The rest of the country will continue to experience dry weather, with heat wave conditions prevailing in the North.

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