Relief from heat as Goa receives rain

PANAJI: Few parts of Goa received light to brisk rainfall for some time, accompanied by lightning and thunder, bringing relief from the sultry and humid weather at the peak of summer.
Rainfall activity had been isolated during the 24 hours till Tuesday morning, as a few centres recorded light rainfall. Margao recorded the highest quantum of 6.2mm, Dabolim 3.8mm, Sanguem and Canacona just over 1mm each and Panaji 0.2mm. Figures for Ponda were not available while other centres did not record any rainfall.
A trough extending from Vidarbha to Kerala is presently influencing the weather pattern in Goa. Another system, a cyclonic circulation over Kerala and its neighbouring region, is also playing a role in inducing movement of convective clouds from Karnataka to Goa, IMD sources said.
The cyclonic circulation over Kerala will have a bigger impact on state weather from Thursday morning.
A few conditions have made it conducive for an early onset of the southwest monsoon this year.
On Tuesday, the northern limit of the monsoon had reached Andaman and Nicobar islands. As per the normal schedule, the onset of monsoons in this region is on May 22.
While conditions are favourable for its further advance over nearby regions during next 28 hours, the southwest monsoon is expected to reach Kerala by May 27.
“During the last three years – 2019, 2020 and 2021– the monsoon onset over Kerala has been on time. In 2019 and 2021, it was on June 1 and in 2021, it was on June 3,” M R Ramesh Kumar, meteorologist and former chief scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Dona Paula, said.
Further movement of the monsoon to Goa, though it takes about a week, depends on factors ranging from local conditions and intensity of monsoon current.