India, May 24 -- Monsoon is set to arrive by Sunday, May 25, in Kerala as the state has been witnessing heavy rainfall over the past two days, according to the India Meteorological Department. Heavy to heavy rainfall is expected due to strong westerly winds.

"Monsoon onset likely over Kerala in the next 2 days. Strong westerlies may bring very heavy to extremely heavy rain. Stay alert and follow advice from the authorities. Check the district wise warnings," said the weather office's Trivandrum unit in a post on X on Friday.

This is the earliest date of monsoon onset over Kerala after 2009 when it was set in over Kerala on May 23. Considering the onset dates from 1975, the earliest onset of monsoon over Kerala occurred in 1990 (May 19, ...