New Delhi | The southwest monsoon is likely to reach Kerala on May 27, earlier than the usual date of June 1, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Sunday.

If the monsoon arrives in Kerala as expected, it will be the earliest onset over the Indian mainland since 2009, when it began on May 23, according to IMD data.

Typically, the southwest monsoon makes its onset over Kerala by June 1 and covers the entire country by July 8. It starts retreating from northwest India around September 17, withdrawing entirely by October 15.

The IMD had in April forecast above-normal cumulative rainfall in the 2025 monsoon season, ruling out the possibility of El Nino conditions, which are associated with below-normal rainfall in the Indian subcontinent.

"India is likely to see above-normal rainfall in the four-month monsoon season (June to September), with cumulative rainfall estimated at 105 per cent (with a model error of 5 per cent) of the long-period average of 87 cm," M Ravichandran, secretary in the Earth Sciences Ministry, had said.