Monsoon Begins Withdrawal from West Rajasthan as 43% of India Faces Rain Deficit
Southwest monsoon starts withdrawing from west Rajasthan, close to its normal date, even as large parts of India remain rain deficient.
The southwest monsoon has started pulling back from northwestern India, with the India Meteorological Department confirming on Saturday that it has withdrawn from parts of west Rajasthan. The retreat is close to the climatological normal of September 17, running just four days behind schedule.
The withdrawal line currently runs through Ramgarh, Mohangarh, Phalodi and Khajuwala in Rajasthan. Over the next three to four days, the monsoon is expected to retreat further from additional areas of Rajasthan, Punjab and the Kutch-Saurashtra region.
Despite the timely onset of the retreat, a substantial portion of the country remains starved of rain. Nearly 43 per cent of India's geographical area is in deficit, with the season's cumulative rainfall through September 19 standing at 695.6 mm — about 15 per cent below normal.
Monthly trends show rainfall stayed below average through June, August and most of September, while July managed only a marginal surplus of about 1 per cent. Rajasthan and Punjab are likely to close the season with deficits between 21 and 40 per cent.
The most severely affected states include Meghalaya at -59 per cent, Andhra Pradesh at -43 per cent, Arunachal Pradesh at -41 per cent, Bihar at -36 per cent, Goa at -35 per cent, Karnataka at -31 per cent, Kerala at -28 per cent, Assam at -26 per cent, Tamil Nadu and Haryana at -22 per cent each, and Telangana at -21 per cent.
Meanwhile, a low-pressure system has formed over the North Andaman Sea and is moving towards the north Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coast. The IMD expects it to track west-northwest and intensify into a depression around September 21, then deepen further over the west-central Bay of Bengal by September 22. It is projected to cross the south Odisha-north Andhra Pradesh coastline around September 23.
Moderate to heavy rainfall is forecast across Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim and coastal Andhra Pradesh through the coming week.