Southwest monsoon starts withdrawing from parts of west Rajasthan

NEW DELHI: The southwest monsoon has started withdrawing from some parts of west Rajasthan, as projected by the India Meteorological Department a few days ago.

“In view of the changeover of the lower tropospheric circulation pattern from cyclonic to anticyclonic, reduction of humidity in the lower tropospheric levels and dry weather prevailing over west Rajasthan, the southwest monsoon has withdrawn from some parts of west Rajasthan, today the 15th September, 2016,” the weather office said on Thursday in its mid-day forecast.

The withdrawal line passes through Anupgarh, Bikaner and Jaisalmer, it said.

The weather office expects rainfall to cover parts of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Maharashtra till September 18, followed by rain in the northeast, Konkan region and Goa.

From September-20-22, it has forecast rain at many places in east and northeast, along west coast and a few places over central and adjoining southern areas. It said rain is likely at a few places over the rest of the country, except Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, where weather is likely to be dry.

The withdrawal of the monsoon from the east and northeast is expected to take time. The retreat of the southwest monsoon coincides with the onset of the northeast monsoon (October-December) in south India.

The normal date for withdrawal of the monsoon from west Rajasthan is September 1 and by mid-October it retreats completely from the northern half of the peninsula.

Rainfall across India from June 1 to September 14 was 5% below average.

As of Wednesday, the monsoon delivered 766.1 mm of rain since the start of the season and 27 of the country’s 36 subdivisions received normal to excess rainfall.

India receives 70% of its annual rainfall during the four-month monsoon season, which lasts till the end of September. In 2015, the retreat of the monsoon started on September 4.