Representative image.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: After weeks of heavy rain that triggered floods in Jammu and Punjab, the southwest monsoon is set to withdraw from northwest India by Sept 15.
“Conditions are becoming favourable for withdrawal of south west monsoon from some parts of west Rajasthan,” India Meteorological Department said here on Friday.
The monsoon was bountiful for northwest India this time with states like Punjab getting showered with 53% more than its average rainfall since the beginning of the season on June 1. Delhi, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh too received way more than their average rainfall.
The union territory of Ladakh experienced 424% more than its cumulative average rainfall for the season whereas it was 71% more in Rajasthan triggering floods in the desert state.
Typically the southwest monsoon begins to retreat by around Sept 17 and is withdrawn fully by mid-October.
This year, the rain-bearing system covered the entire country nine days before the usual date of July 8 after arriving at the Kerala coast by May 24 and galloped to cover half of India before the beginning of the season on June 1.
The country has received 836.2 mm of rainfall so far against a normal of 778.6 mm, a surplus of 7%. Northwest India has received 720.4 mm, 33% more than the normal of 538.1 mm.
June rainfall was 180 mm, around 9% above normal, with large surpluses in northwest and central India. July brought 294 mm of rainfall, 5% above normal, led by a 22% surplus in central India whereas August added 268 mm, 5.2% above normal.
This year saw 133 extremely heavy rainfall events and 621 very heavy rainfall events – the highest in the last five years.
While rainfall was largely normal or excess in most parts of the country, deficiency was seen in the east and northeast with Bihar receiving 31% deficient rainfall necessitating more use of irrigation water for paddy cultivation. The deficiency was large in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya.
The monthly average rainfall in September, according to the IMD, is expected to be more than 109% of its average rainfall (167.9 mm)
Because of the excess rain, Punjab suffered its worst flooding in decades with swollen rivers and breached canals inundating thousands of hectares of farmland and displacing lakhs of people.
In the Himalayan states, cloudbursts and flash floods triggered landslides and caused widespread damage with Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu region reporting washed-out bridges and roads.
The weather bureau attributed the surplus rain to active monsoon conditions supported by frequent western disturbances that enhanced rainfall over the region.