Lesson from 2009: An early southwest monsoon isn't always a good one

Scientists said the progress of southwest monsoon depend on many supportive factors such as frequency of Low Pressure Systems over the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea

The southwest monsoon arrived unusually early this year on May 24, which is eight days ahead of its usual onset date of June 1. It arrived over Northeast India even earlier — that is, around 12 days ahead of its usual onset date. The last time the rains arrived earlier than this year was back in 2009, when the onset happened on May 23. 

However, the early onset of the monsoon over Kerala is no guarantee of strong performance or uniform distribution across the country. There have been multiple instances in the past when the southwest monsoon arrived over the