The Hindu Business Line : Cyclone not to affect monsoon prospects: Met

THE cyclonic storm over Southeast Arabian Sea has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm even as it headed further out seawards to the north of Lakshadweep.

On Friday morning, the system was stationed 150 km to the north-northwest of Amini Divi in Lakshadweep with `a lessened grip' over the peninsular weather. As a result, there was some respite for southern Kerala, but the north continued to receive heavy rainfall as the day progressed.

The amount of rainfall received were (in cm): Vythiri (Wayanad) - 23; Karipoor (Kozhikode) Airport - 21; Ponnani - 19; Kozhikode City - 17; Koilandi, Peermade, Kunnamkulam and Tiruvalla - 15 each; Kottayam, Alappuzha, Kodungallur, Thodupuzha and Vadakara - 12 each; Kannur and Thalassery- 11 each; Chalakkudi and Thrithala - 10 each.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD) projections, the system was likely to intensify further and keep moving away to the north-northwest at a leisurely pace enough to sustain the wet spell and rough sea conditions along Kerala, coastal Karnataka and the Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar islands during the next 24 hours.

For the third day running, the IMD issued a warning about `isolated heavy rainfall' over Kerala, Lakshadweep, coastal Karnataka and Andaman & Nicobar islands. Squally winds with speeds reaching 60-80 kmph have been forecast over Lakshadweep and along and off the Kerala and Karnataka coasts. The state of the sea will continue to be rough. Fishermen have been warned against venturing out into the sea.

Not to hit monsoon prospects: Sources in the Met Department dismissed as illogical apprehensions that the currently active system in the Arabian Sea would affect the timely onset and performance of the impending southwest monsoon.

These fears were aired in the context of the last monsoon currents encountering an untimely cyclonic circulation over the South Andamans and losing steam. This had the forced the IMD to set the onset to a date later than the scheduled June 1.

The severe cyclonic circulation over the west central Bay of Bengal around the middle of May last year had taken its own time withdrawing to the north and further to the north-east Bay, putting a spoke in the scheme of the advancing Bay arm of the monsoon system.

The result was that the latter lost much of its sting and hit an atmospheric beachhead somewhere over South Andamans, where it had reached on time.

But the situation is entirely different this year, not least because of the fact that the onset date is more than 25 days away.

Given this, there was no possibility of monsoon currents running into the system. According to Met sources, the monsoon wind pattern in the southern hemisphere had not evolved yet.

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