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uwahati: For the third time since 2009, and the second time in a row this year, monsoon has arrived in Kerala and the northeast on the same day, Met officials confirmed on Saturday.This year's monsoon arrival also marks the earliest onset of monsoon over Kerala and northeast after 2009, when it set in over both the states on May 23, 2009.Typically, southwest monsoon sets in over Kerala on June 1 and advances over most of northeast India by June 5, which is the normal monsoon arrival date for the northeast. This year, southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala eight days before its normal date and over Mizoram (northeast India), twelve days before the normal date.The IMD in its media release on Saturday said the conditions are favourable for further advance of southwest monsoon into some more parts of the northeastern states during the next two to three days."Monsoon has reached southern Mizoram on Saturday, and thus monsoon onset has started in the northeastern region. Rains are going to intensify, the monsoon clouds are going to cover the entire northeast soon," senior scientist KN Mohan, head at Regional Meteorological Centre of IMD, told TOI.

In the past ten years, there have been several instances where the monsoon arrival happened later than the normal date of arrival in the northeast. Mohan said this year's monsoon arrival on Saturday (May 24) is ‘very early'."Normally, cyclones happen in Apr and May. However, this year the number of cyclones has decreased. Due to this, there was less barrier for southwest monsoon, and equatorial rain crossed the southern hemisphere and entered the northern hemisphere early, touching the Kerala coast.

Thus, there was an early monsoon onset in both Kerala and the northeast, which are in the northern hemisphere," Mohan explained.Last year, monsoon arrived in the northeast on May 30, whereas in 2023, monsoon arrival in the region was on June 8.In the last ten years, since 2014, on five occasions, monsoon arrival was later than the normal date of monsoon arrival (June 5) in the northeast. However, between 2000 and 2013, monsoon arrival was delayed only in 2003, reflecting comparative delays in monsoon arrivals in the northeastern region over about last two decades.

During this period (2000 to 2013), in the remaining years, the monsoon either arrived in the northeast on June 5 or before.

On several occasions, it arrived in May.This pre-monsoon season (considered since March 1), only Assam and Meghalaya have experienced normal range rainfall as per IMD data. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura have experienced a deficit of rain. Met officials said monsoon rains can bring major relief for the time being.