Monsoon begins withdrawal from north-west India

The south-west monsoon began its withdrawal from the region on Tuesday leaving behind significant deficiency in rainfall, but some areas in north-west India could still experience showers in the coming days.

“South-west monsoon has further withdrawn from some parts of Punjab and Haryana on September 24,” a bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday stated. Since June 1, the seasonal deficiency has been 28 per cent in Punjab, 21 per cent in Himachal Pradesh and 5 per cent in Haryana.

The retreat has so far affected the south-western corners of Punjab and Haryana. The normal date for withdrawal from these states is September 20. The seasonal withdrawal of monsoon over the country had commenced on Monday, seven days after the normal date, with some parts of western Rajasthan and Gujarat being affected.

The weather in the state remained dry during the past 24 hours with the maximum temperature recorded at some places being above normal by up to 4.6 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature being above normal at a few places by up to six degrees Celsius, according to the IMD.

In September so far, Punjab has received just about half the rain it normally receives during the period. From September 1 till September 24, the rainfall recorded in the state was 35.7 per cent against the long period average of 68.2 per cent, accounting for a shortfall of 48 per cent.

The shortfall in the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh during September is 8 per cent, while Haryana has witnessed a surplus of 37 per cent.

The weather department has predicted that isolated to scattered light to moderate rain is very likely over northwest India during the next two days and scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rain is expected during the five subsequent days. Further, isolated heavy rain is very likely over Himachal Pradesh on September 26.