Monsoon hits Kerala: Witness the joy of the first rain in these photos

The IMD declares a monsoon when it has rained at least 2.5mm for 48 hours at a minimum of 60% of its weather stations in Kerala and coastal Karnataka.

Over the next two days, the IMD expects the monsoon to advance into coastal and southern Karnataka, parts of southern Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.

The monsoons this year come after nearly two years of drought, which has affected at least one-third of the country's population. Almost 300 districts in 11 states have declared scarcity or drought, after there wasn't enough rainfall during the 2014 and 2015 monsoons.

This year, though, there is excitement as almost all weather predictions say the monsoons will be 'above normal'. The IMD expects rainfall to be 106% of the average.

In fact, the IMD has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next two days in coastal Karnataka, south interior Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Goa and the Konkan coast. It expects heavy rainfall in isolated places in central Maharashtra on 11 and 12 June.

Heavy rainfall in Kerala has already claimed one life, according to reports.

Meanwhile, the IMD plans to purchase a supercomputer worth $60 million to better predict the monsoons.

Text by Nihar Gokhale, edited by Shreyas Sharma

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