IMD says monsoon has started retreating from parts of Rajasthan, Punjab, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chandigarh

New Delhi: The southwest monsoon retreated from parts of west Rajasthan and Punjab on Monday, 11 days after its normal withdrawal date, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Conditions are becoming favourable for its further withdrawal from some more parts of Rajasthan and Punjab and some parts of Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh during next two to three days, the IMD said. “The southwest monsoon has withdrawn from some parts of west Rajasthan and Punjab today, September 28th, 2020,” it said. Dry weather is likely to prevail over parts of north India for the next five days. The official rainfall season in the country starts from 1 June to 30 September. This year, the monsoon made an onset over Kerala on 1 June, its normal onset date. It covered the entire country on 26 June, nearly a fortnight more than its normal schedule. According to the revised date, the new normal date for the monsoon to cover the entire country is 8 July. Earlier, the normal date for the monsoon to cover the entire country was 15 July. The monsoon has also withdrawn late this year. The new normal withdrawal date for the monsoon to retreat from west Rajasthan is 17 September, while the earlier normal date for the monsoon to withdraw from west Rajasthan was 15 July. While the monsoon was retreating from parts of north India, other parts of the country will continue to receive rainfall. A trough runs from a cyclonic circulation over east Bihar to west-central Bay of Bengal, off Andhra Pradesh coast across Gangetic West Bengal and coastal Odisha. Under the influence of this system, scattered to fairly widespread rainfall with moderate thunderstorm and lightning are very likely over south peninsular India during the next three days, the weatherman said. Isolated heavy rainfall is very likely over Tamil Nadu during the next two days, the IMD added. According to the weather department, monsoon is set to end on an above-normal note. Until 27 September, the country had received 9 percent more rainfall than the normal. Rainfall in the range of 96-104 percent of the Long Period Average (LPA) is considered as ’normal’; 104-106 percent of the LPA as ‘above normal’. Anything beyond 110 per cent is considered as ’excess’.