Southwest Monsoon withdrawal likely to begin next week: IMD

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The Southwest Monsoon is likely to start withdrawing from west Rajasthan by the end of next week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on September 18. Conditions are likely to become favourable in the next two days for the withdrawal of monsoon. North Indians plains are also witnessing above normal temperatures, it said.

"These are one of the weather patterns we see when conditions are ripe for monsoon withdrawal. From September 20 onwards, we don't see the possibility of monsoon rains in west Rajasthan," IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said. The IMD has revised the withdrawal dates for monsoon from this year.

According to the new schedule, monsoon was expected to withdraw on September 17. However, due to a low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal, the retreat has been delayed. The withdrawal of the Southwest Monsoon from west Rajasthan also makes conditions conducive for onset of winter.

Several parts of central and south India are likely to receive heavy rainfall in the next two days. The IMD has also issued orange warning for Kerala, Goa and parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra on Saturday.

Orange warning has also been issued for Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra and Goa on Sunday. So far, the country has received 7 percent more rainfall than normal.

The northwest division of the IMD has an overall 15 percent deficiency. It comprises Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana and the Union territories of Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

The central India division received 14 percent more rainfall so far. The division comprises Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and the Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

The south peninsula meteorological division of the IMD has received 28 percent more rainfall than normal. The division covers Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, Karnataka and the Union territories of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry.

The east and northeast India division has also recorded 2 percent more rainfall than normal. The division comprises West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and the northeastern states.