Thiruvananthapuram, Friday 29 May 2009: The State received 23 per cent more rain than usual during the week ending May 27 thanks to the early onset of the southwest monsoon this time.

The monsoon had set in over the State on May 23 this time, eight days earlier than the normal date of June 1. By May 25 the whole State had come under its umbrella.

The State received 97 mm of rainfall during the week ending May 27, against a long-term average of 78.7 mm for the week—the excess being 23 per cent, the India Meteorology Department (IMD) said in its weekly rainfall update on Thursday.

However, the summer has been unusually scanty of rain this year. The State received only 305.6 mm of rainfall during the period from March 1 to May 27, against a long-term average of 374.2 mm for the period. Notwithstanding the good week that has just gone by, the deficiency comes to 18 per cent.

Ten of the 14 districts in the State received excess rainfall during the week ending May 27. These districts (with the excess rainfall indicated in percentage in brackets) are: Thiruvananthapuram (201), Kollam (30) Pathanamthitta (13), Kottayam (20), Idukki (17), Alappuzha (67), Ernakulam (60), Thrissur (31), Kozhikode (28) and Kannur (49).
The districts that received less than normal rainfall during the week are: Malappuram (15), Palakkad (29), Wayanad (61) and Kasaragod (42).