Monsoon withdrawal to begin from north-west today

NEW DELHI: The south-west monsoon will begin withdrawing from many parts of northwest India from Wednesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said, pointing out that it will likely be the second most delayed withdrawal since 1960.

“Rain has stopped in many parts of northwest India. There is still some rain over Ganganagar region in Rajasthan. Water vapour has also reduced significantly, and an anti-cyclone is getting established, leading to change in wind direction to northwesterly. All these conditions favour gradual monsoon withdrawal and establishment of dry conditions with marginal fall in temperature,” said K Sathi Devi, head, national weather forecasting centre.

Delhi, however, saw localised thunderstorms on Tuesday. “The thunderstorm activity over some parts of Delhi is mainly due to high day temperatures and moisture. There is also a western disturbance, which is impacting the region,” Devi said.

The withdrawal of the Juneseptember monsoon means a gradual fall in temperature and humidity as dry winds blow in from the northwest. The most delayed monsoon withdrawal was observed in 2019, the Met department said, when it started withdrawing on October 9. Last year, monsoon began withdrawing on September 28, while in 1961, it started withdrawing on

October 1.

“There are still some clouds over Rajasthan, but by tomorrow (October 6) it will clear up and there will be very fast withdrawal of monsoon this time,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president, climate change and meteorology at private forecaster Skymet Weather.

“As per our analysis, monsoon will withdraw from Punjab, Haryana, Western Himalayas, Gujarat, northern parts of Madhya Pradesh, even parts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh by October 10. Northwesterly winds will penetrate the entire region. There will be a slight drop in temperatures in the morning and evening and winds will be dry.”

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 33 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, harvesting has started in Punjab and Haryana. “The weather has not cleared up completely. Harvesting has started, but will pick up properly around October 10. Some isolated stubble fires have started. Until the government plans to give farmers a direct subsidy, most farmers will choose to burn stubble,” said Harinder Singh Lakhowal, general secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Union, Punjab.

LAST YEAR, THE MONSOON BEGAN WITHDRAWING ON SEPTEMBER 28; IN 1961, IT BEGAN ON OCTOBER 1, THE IMD SAID