NEW DELHI, June 3 -- The southwest monsoon is likely to reach Kerala within the next 24 hours, kicking off India's crucial four-month rainy season, even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of heavy rainfall, thunderstorms and sharp temperature swings across several parts of the country in the coming days.

The normal onset date for the southwest monsoon over Kerala is 1 June.

The weather office said conditions are favourable for the monsoon to advance further into parts of the southwest and southeast Arabian Sea, the Lakshadweep Islands, parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, additional areas of the southwest, west-central, east-central and northeast Bay of Bengal, and the remaining parts of the southeast Bay of Bengal over the ...