Report

India's monsoon to hit south coast this week

Monsoon rainfall over India's south coast is likely to progress in the next three to four days and is expected to hit the mainland over the southern state of Kerala on time, two weather department officials said Monday.

The monsoon usually touches Andaman by May 20, but this time rainfall was slightly delayed due to erratic weather patterns.The timely arrival of the June-September monsoon will brighten prospects of a higher foodgrain output for a third straight year. The seasonal rainfall is important for the sowing of summer crops such as rice, pulses, oilseeds, sugar cane and cotton because 60% of the country's farmland is rain-fed.

After arriving over Kerala, the monsoon gradually covers most of the central and northern grain- and oilseed-producing regions by July. Last month, the weather department forecast that rainfall this year would be normal.