After initial withdrawal, retreat of monsoon stalled for past three days

After commencing its withdrawal from the region on September 24 — four days behind the normal date —the retreat of the monsoon has been stalled since then, with many parts of north-west India experiencing intermittent rain over the past three days.

The withdrawal on the first day was restricted to the south-western tips of Punjab and Haryana covering parts of Fazilka and Sirsa districts. Normally, the monsoon withdraws completely from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh by September 25.

The monsoon began its seasonal withdrawal from the country from parts of western Rajasthan and Gujarat on September 23 – seven days later than the normal date. Since September 24, the line of withdrawal has been passing through Ferozepur, Sirsa, Churu, Ajmer, Mount Abu, Deesa, Surendranagar and Junagarh.

At the time of withdrawal from Punjab, the rain over the state during September was deficient by 48 per cent. Over the subsequent three days, the deficiency increased to 50 per cent even though many parts of the region experienced rain.

According to data compiled by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Punjab received 37.2 mm rain from September 1 till September 26 as compared to the long period average of 74.3 mm for this period.

The monthly deficiency in Himachal Pradesh, which was 8 per cent on September 24, has recovered and the rainfall till September 26 has been on a par with the long period average. Haryana has recorded a surplus of 38 per cent.

The seasonal deficiency across the region, however, continues with the shortfall since June 1 being 29 per cent in Punjab, 19 per cent in Himachal Pradesh and 4 per cent in Haryana.