The national weather service announced on Thursday that monsoon rains arrived on India’s southernmost Kerala coast a few days earlier than anticipated, increasing the likelihood of record harvests that might propel agricultural and economic growth in the region’s third-largest economy, according to Reuters.
The early onset of the monsoon is undoubtedly good news for Pakistan, where residents have been suffering from a heatwave that has broken records for the past two weeks.
The quantity of rain that Pakistan will receive during the season will depend on how far ahead the monsoon moves in the upcoming days and weeks.
Nonetheless, the Pakistan Meteorological Department has already forecast a monsoon this year that would be heavier than usual.
According to Reuters, summer rains typically start in the coastal state of Kerala around June 1 and move over the entire nation by mid-July, when crops like rice, corn, cotton, soybeans, and sugarcane are planted.
India’s $3.5 trillion economy depends heavily on the monsoon, which provides around 70% of the rain required to refuel aquifers and reservoirs as well as water farms.
Without irrigation, about half of India’s agricultural is dependent on the country’s yearly June–September rains.
Rainfall will be frequent throughout the monsoon season, providing relief from the scorching weather that has seen maximum temperatures surpass 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in certain parts of the country’s north and west.
