That cool breeze and fresh earthy smell of rain that herald the onset of the northeast monsoon may take a while coming to the city. The Meteorological Department has forecast that rain may be delayed by five-six days.
Monday was rather hot and sultry for October as the day temperature soared to 33.8 degree Celsius, two degrees above average for the season. Meteorologists attribute this to lack of moisture in the air. While the southwest monsoon completely withdrew on Monday, the conditions are not yet favourable for the northeast monsoon to set in.
According to met department officials, the monsoon normally sets in around October 20. Chennai may get light showers because of an upper air circulation in the Comorin area. “It is normal for the monsoon to be early or late by up to seven days. What is more important is the amount of rainfall it brings,” said S. R. Ramanan, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre.
A typhoon in Philippines that made landfall on Saturday was a major reason behind the delay in the onset of monsoon, added officials.
K. Srikanth who blogs at Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikalam said: “The typhoon that made landfall in Philippines has changed the wind pattern around Andaman Islands, which usually pushes moisture to the Tamil Nadu coast.”
Mr. Srikanth said weather factors like El-nino are likely to be favourable for the monsoon. Chennai has experienced above-average rainfall on nearly 70 per cent of the El-nino years from 1966. A recent El-nino year was 2006 when the city had excess rainfall by 32 per cent.
