Southwest monsoon overshot the stipulated withdrawal date of 17thSeptember from West Rajasthan. The retreat of monsoon was delayed by 8 days as the annual event comes to close, starting with West Rajasthan. The withdrawal dates of southwest monsoon were revised in 2020, based on 49 years data from 1971 to 2019.
The earlier date of 01Sep for withdrawal from West Rajasthan was shifted to 17th September. Even after the revision, withdrawal has commenced late for the 4thsuccessive year between 2020 and 2023. Most delayed withdrawal commenced on 09th October in 2019 and closely followed at 06th October in 2021.
Although, the withdrawal of monsoon from the country is expected to be a gradual process but defying the logic, the retreat has been abrupt on a few occasions. In 2019, withdrawal commenced on 09 October and was completed on 17th October, the fastest on record.
After the process of withdrawal starts, the retreat from northwest India does not take much time. The withdrawal becomes sluggish and may sometimes stall over the central and eastern parts of the country. As such, the normal date of withdrawal from these parts goes as far as 10thOctober.
This year, the withdrawal from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and most of Maharashtra is likely to be completed by 1st week of October. As a low pressure area is likely to develop over Bay of Bengal at start of October, its movement across the eastern and northeastern parts may extend the monsoon stay by couple of days over these parts. Monsoon is expected to vacate the country as per the due date of 15thOctober.
