New Delhi, May 18 (PTI): The onset of monsoon over Kerala is delayed by a week, the latest forecast by the Indian Meteorological Department has said.

The new forecast suggests the monsoon will hit the Indian shore on June 7 as against the normal date of June 1.

In spite of the expected delay, the seasonal rainfall over the country as a whole is expected to be near normal, the department said.

Earlier, the department had issued a long-range forecast saying the monsoon will be near normal. During the last 50 years, the earliest monsoon onset over Kerala was on May 14 in 1960 and the most delayed onset was on June 18 in 1972, the department said.