Monsoon reaches Andaman islands: Met office

Monsoon rains, vital for farm output in India's trillion-dollar economy, has reached the Andaman and Nicobar islands, GC Debnath, director of the weather section at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata said on Monday.

Last Friday the weather office, which expects normal monsoon rains this year, said monsoon was likely to arrive on the mainland on May 30, two days before normal.

"The southwest monsoon has set over the Andaman and Nicobar islands and some parts of southeast Bay of Bengal. Today, we have declared the onset of southwest monsoon," Debnath said.