15 Interesting facts about Indian Monsoon

New Delhi, Apr 14: India is likely to receive normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season this year, the India Meteorological Department said on Thursday. Rainfall will be 96 per cent to 104 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA) of 87 cm of the 1971-2020 period, it noted.

The rainfall will be 99 per cent of the long period average (LPA), the average rainfall recorded during the months from June to September, calculated during the 50-year period. The rains usually lash the southern tip of Kerala around June 1 and retreat by September.

Interesting Fact About Indian Monsoon

1. The term was first used in English in British India and neighbouring countries to refer to the big seasonal winds blowing from the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the area.
2. The etymology of the word monsoon is not wholly certain. The English monsoon came from Portuguese monção ultimately from Arabic موسم (mawsim, "season"), "perhaps partly via early modern Dutch monson".
3. A monsoon is nothing but a seasonal wind shift over a region which causes heavy rains.
4. The first of the regular series of forecasts was given on the 4th June 1886.
5. An average or normal monsoon means rainfall between 96 and 104 per cent of a 50-year average of 89 centimetres during a four-month season from June, India's weather office says.
6. Rainfall below 90 per cent of the average is considered a drought.
7. The period June to September is referred to as the 'Southwest Monsoon' period. The period is the principal rainy season for the Indian subcontinent.
8. The monsoon in India blows from the south-west during one half of the year and from the north-east during the other half.
9. Southwest monsoon sets in over the extreme southwestern tip of the peninsula by the end of May. The monsoon usually arrives in Kerala by June 1 and covers the entire country by mid-July.
10. The onset of the monsoon is characterized by a sudden spurt of rainfall activity. It progresses inland in stages and covers the entire country by the middle of July.
11. The monsoon rains have different names in different states in India. For instance, it is called 'Mungaaru Male' in Kannada and 'Merku Paruva Malai' in Tamil.
12. Lightening is mainly associated with convective clouds. Monsoon clouds are mainly stratiform. Therefore, lightening generally do not occur during the active phase of the monsoon season.
13. Monsoon's withdrawal begins from the extreme northwest by the beginning of September, progressively receding southwards.
14. Tamil Nadu is considered as a rain shadow region as it lies on the eastern (leaward side) side of western ghats. The total annual rainfall is maximum over the southernmost part of the state.
15. The southwest monsoon holds away over the country. The whole country receives nearly 75% of its rainfall during this period.