MONSOON started withdrawing from India on Monday, eight days behind the normal date of September 17, the India Meteorological Department said. “The southwest monsoon has withdrawn from parts of southwest Rajasthan today, September 25, 2023, against its normal date of withdrawal from southwest Rajasthan of September 17,” it said in a statement. This year is the 13th consecutive delayed Monsoon retreat. The withdrawal of monsoon from northwest India marks the beginning of its retreat from the Indian subcontinent. Any delay in the monsoon’s retreat means a longer rainy season, which can significantly impact agricultural production, particularly for northwest India where monsoon rainfall plays a crucial role in the Rabi crop production.

 

Typically, the southwest monsoon makes its onset over Kerala by June 1 and covers the entire country by July 8. It starts retreating from northwest India around September 17, withdrawing entirely by October 15. According to the IMD, the withdrawal of monsoon from extreme north-western parts of the country is announced based on three major synoptic features after September 1: no rainfall activity over the region for five days on the trot, the establishment of anticyclone in the lower troposphere (850 hPa and below) and a considerable reduction in moisture content as inferred from satellite water vapour imageries and tephigrams. India has received 796.4 mm of rain during this monsoon season so far, compared to a normal of 843.2 mm, representing a deficit of six per cent. Rainfall between 94 per cent and 106 per cent of the long-period average (LPA) is considered normal.