Monsoon rains hit the coast of India's southernmost state of Kerala on Saturday (May 24), eight days earlier than usual, marking the earliest arrival in 16 years and providing the promise of a bumper harvest and relief from a gruelling heatwave.

The monsoon, the lifeblood of the country's $4 trillion economy, delivers nearly 70% of the rain that India needs to water farms and replenish aquifers and reservoirs.

Nearly half of India's farmland, without any irrigation cover, depends on the annual June-September rains to grow a number of crops.

Summer rains usually begin to lash Kerala around June 1 before spreading nationwide by mid-July, allowing farmers to plant crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans and sugarcane.

The onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala on May 24 is its earliest onset since May 23, 2009, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.

The monsoon has covered Kerala and parts of neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as parts of the northeastern state of Mizoram, the IMD said.

Conditions are favourable for the monsoon's further spread into Goa, parts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, the northeastern states, West Bengal, and the remaining parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over the next 2 to 3 days.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

KANNUR, KERALA, INDIA (MAY 23, 2025) (KERALA DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS - No use India)

1. TWO-WHEELER MOVING ON ROAD AS IT RAINS

2. RAIN WATER ON ROAD

3. TRUCKS DRIVING ON ROAD AS IT RAINS

KOCHI, KERALA, INDIA (MAY 23, 2025) (ANI - No use India)

4. PEOPLE WALKING ON ROADSIDE AS IT RAINS

5. AUTO-RICKSHAWS MOVING

NEW DELHI, INDIA (MAY 24, 2025) (ANI - No use India)

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) SCIENTIST AT INDIAN METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT, NARESH KUMAR, SAYING:

"Today the monsoon is set in Kerala, which is eight days before its normal date. It normally begins on June 1 but it has started on May 24. Monsoon rains have hit not just Kerala but some parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as well."

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA, INDIA (MAY 24, 2025) (ANI - No use India)

7. NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FORCE (NDRF) PERSONNEL GATHERED NEAR FALLEN TREE

8. NDRF PERSONNEL CUTTING TREE BRANCH

9. TREE BRANCHES BEING PUT ONTO TRUCK

10. VARIOUS OF NDRF PERSONNEL WORKING TO TAKE FALLEN TREE OFF ROAD