: With the depression over east-central Bay of Bengal playing spoilsport, the north-east monsoon may not set in until October 27 in Tamil Nadu, meteorologists say.
However, some parts of southern Tamil Nadu may receive rains because of the proximity of the system to the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Otherwise, the State may largely have dry weather. Chennai too will have cloudy sky for two days. The day temperature will continue to hover around 35 degree Celsius till Monday, officials of the Meteorological Department said.
There is a possibility for a wet spell close to Deepavali. Normally, the north- east monsoon sets in around October 20 and arrival before or after seven days of the usual date is considered normal by the Meteorological Department. Chennai has registered only 20 mm of rainfall this month. However, an overnight heavy spell towards the month-end may cover the deficit, the officials said. On an average, Chennai has 10 rainy days during October. Similarly, other places like Madurai and Tiruchi have eight rainy days this month.
It may be recalled that the monsoon arrived late twice in the last five years. Chennai experienced good rainfall both in 2011 and 2015.
While the delay in monsoon would mean a longer wait for better drinking water supply, farmers are concerned about lower yield due to dry weather, K. Sridhar, a farmer in Manjankaranai, Tiruvallur district, said.
“The paddy crops are already affected due to pest attack brought on by dry weather. Rains will help get us a better yield. With the delay in monsoon, farmers will have to spend more on irrigation.” The quality of harvest may also suffer due to deficient rains. For fishermen too, the delay in rains means lower catch.
