The monsoon is likely to miss the 30 May forecast by the Indian Meteorological Department, but is likely to arrive in Kerala in a few days.
The rains will bring much-needed relief to south India, which has been blistering under a heat wave, which has claimed about 2,000 lives in the last week.
The IMD had forecast monsoon to make landfall on Saturday, with a margin error of four days.
"It may not happen on May 30 but we don't expect a delay beyond four days, which is quite normal," said DS Pai, IMD monsoon forecaster told Hindustan Times.
While the sun-baked Andhra Pradesh and Telangana reportedly received scanty showers on Friday, rainshowers are likely to occur in a few days.
However, much of the northern India, where temperatures have soared to dangerous levels, will have to wait longer for rains, which experts said will be restricted to southern India for the initial days in June.
"Initially in June, the monsoon will be confined to extreme southern parts only. Its further progress is expected to be delayed by a week. On the other hand, the second half of June looks more promising," Jatin Singh, CEO the weather forecasting firm of Skymet, told HT.
This year's heat wave has been catastrophic with the number of deaths crossing 2000, with most reported from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
