The monsoon advanced to more parts of Bay of Bengal and the North-Eastern states on Friday while, to the west, it was bracing to move north from Kochi.

The northern limit passed through Kochi, Tondi, Agartala, William Nagar and Kokrajhar, an update by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Meanwhile, upper air cyclonic circulations were parked over the East-Central Arabian Sea off the South Maharashtra coast and over the South-East Bay of Bengal on Friday.

This represents a classical setting for the monsoon with respect to the depth and strength of the underlying current, according to KJ Ramesh, Director-General, IMD.

He told BusinessLine that the monsoon continued to prosper on fundamentals reinforced by a spectacular onset over Kerala. Organised rains should reach Goa by June 7 or 8.

The progress of the monsoon to the Bay of Bengal side has been at a comparatively slow pace, adhering to the known pattern.

As the monsoon reaches Goa, its northern limit should have covered most parts of Karnataka and South Andhra Pradesh until Ongole in the contiguous South Peninsula.

“The core monsoon current set into motion by severe cyclone ‘Mora’ continues to maintain strength in the Bay and will trigger spells of rain in the North-East,” Ramesh said.

The D-G was here to attend the Sixth All-India Departmental Hindi Seminar, a one-day event, hosted by the Met Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.

Delivering his address, Ramesh observed that the seminar affords an opportunity for Met officials to meet and exchange ideas in Hindi and also explore the latest in technology advancements.

Such technologies invariably come to be employed first in weather and climate services, he said.

Others who spoke included MB Thampi, Deputy Director-General, Met Centre, Chennai, and Devendra Pradhan, Met Centre, Delhi.

‘Shear zone’

The progress of the monsoon over the Arabian Sea, the South Peninsula, the Bay of Bengal and the North-East is diagonal in orientation, Ramesh explained to BusinessLine.

This means that the progress is faster on the Arabian Sea side and the West Coast. For further progress to occur, the ‘monsoon shear zone’ has to get further organised in the Bay, signs of which were available on Friday.

The shear zone represents an area three km in height from the surface where the monsoon system is most active, and gives rise to helpful low-pressure areas and depressions.

Meanwhile, a ‘low’ forming in the Arabian Sea soon will take the monsoon up to Mangaluru. So, pre-monsoon showers should intensify over part of Coastal Karnataka.

After the monsoon reaches Goa, pre-monsoon thundershowers will scale up over the Konkan Coast up to Mumbai.

A counterpart ‘low’ forming over the Bay by June 7 or 8 should rev up the monsoon and help drive it further along the West Coast, towards Mumbai.

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