Cyclone Biparjoy in the Arabian Sea intensified into a ‘very severe cyclone’ on Wednesday. Currently located about 850 km west of Goa, it is expected to move northwards and turn towards Oman in the coming days. While this will help the monsoon onset into Kerala within the next 48 hours, several experts say this will mean a sluggish ascent up the Western coast.
“As of today, the cyclone system has detached from the monsoon system and there have been good rains over Kerala and the winds are favourable too,” said D Sivananda Pai, of the India Meteorological Department, “However we have to wait a few days see whether it will impact the monsoon’s subsequent movement.”
Other scientists say that a slew of factors have combined that will likely see the Biparjoy steal considerable moisture away from the monsoon.
