Monsoon in Kerala by 9th June. North and south Tamil Nadu to witness thunderstorm in the next 24 hours, says K Balachandran (Dir, Met Dept).

Yesterday, India Meteorological Department Director BP Yadav said that the monsoon is strengthening over the Arabian Sea and there have been favourable developments in the last 48 hours for bountiful rains in India. on Tuesday pointed out that Kerala has been getting a good amount of rainfall continuously.

"The cloud organisation is not yet fully developed and therefore monsoon likely to set over Kerala by June 9," said Yadav. The normal date of monsoon onset over Kerala is June 1.

Speaking about the unprecedented heat wave in several regions of the country, the IMD chief said severe weather conditions will continue in western and eastern parts of Rajasthan, western Haryana, some parts of Gujarat and western Madhya Pradesh.

"It's now time for heat wave to subside because eastern winds are coming in and moisture is being pumped in. But we have to wait for 48 hours before heat wave in Rajasthan subsides. We are not expecting any heat wave in Delhi and the National Capital Region," he added.

A good monsoon is extremely crucial as several regions are under the spell of severe drought following two years of poor rainfall.