New Delhi:
The arrival of monsoon over Kerala is likely to delayed by two days and it is now expected to make an onset over the state by June 3, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday.
IMD Director General M Mohapatra said there is cyclonic circulation along the Karnataka coast which is hindering the progress of the southwest monsoon.
Nearly half of India's farmland has no irrigation and depends on annual June-September rains to grow crops such as rice, corn, cane, cotton, and soybeans.
India's weather office said last month the country was expected to get average monsoon rains this year, raising expectations of higher farm output, which is central to the country's economy.