IMD issues red alert for several districts in Kerala as Southwest Monsoon hits the state

A red alert has been declared for Kasaragod and Kannur districts. An orange alert is in place for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Wayanad.

A red alert has been issued for Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod for May 25.

An orange alert remains for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, and Palakkad.

A red alert has been issued for Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod for May 26. An orange alert will be in effect for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Alappuzha.

The IMD has said that Southwest Monsoon has set over Kerala on May 24, eight days earlier than its normal onset date of June 1.

This marks the earliest monsoon arrival in Kerala since 2009, the weather department said.

"The Southwest Monsoon has set in over Kerala today, the 24th May, 2025, against the normal date of 1st June. Thus, the southwest monsoon has set in over Kerala 8 days before the normal date. This is the earliest monsoon onset over Kerala after the year 2009, when it was set in over Kerala on 23rd May 2009," said the IMD official.

In addition to Kerala, IMD said that a well-marked low pressure area over eastcentral Arabian Sea off south Konkan coast concentrated into a depression and lay centered earlier today.

"The Well-Marked Low pressure area over eastcentral Arabian Sea off south Konkan coast concentrated into a depression and lay centered at 0530 Hrs IST of today, the 24th May 2025 over eastcentral Arabian Sea and adjoining south Konkan coast near latitude 17.20 N & longitude 73.00E, about 40 km northwest of Ratnagiri. It is likely to move nearly eastwards and cross south Konkan coast between Ratnagiri and Dapoli as a depression during forenoon of today, the 24th May 2025," IMD said. (ANI)