Southwest Monsoon withdraws from parts of Haryana, Punjab; rainfall deficit at 24% and 36%
Panchkula, Sep 21(UNI) The southwest monsoon withdrew from parts of Haryana and Punjab on Monday, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) saying conditions are favourable for its further retreat from the remaining parts of Punjab and the Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi region during the next two to three days.
The withdrawal comes with both agrarian states facing a substantial seasonal rainfall shortfall. Punjab has received 267.8 mm of rain against the normal 419.2 mm, a deficit of 36 per cent, while Haryana has recorded 312.9 mm against the normal 413 mm, leaving it 24 per cent deficient. Chandigarh has received 708.1 mm against the normal 821.7 mm, a deficit of 14 per cent, according to the IMD.
In a special withdrawal update issued on Monday, the IMD's Meteorological Centre in Chandigarh said the southwest monsoon had further withdrawn from additional parts of Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. The monsoon withdrawal line now passes through Jaisalmer, Nagaur, Sikar, Rohtak, Patiala and Gurdaspur, extending from 26.2 degrees north/68.4 degrees east to 32.8 degrees north/73.7 degrees east.
The weather department said conditions are favourable for further withdrawal from the remaining parts of Punjab and Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi over the next two to three days. The monsoon is also expected to retreat further from parts of Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and western Uttar Pradesh during the period. In absolute terms, Punjab has received 151.4 mm less rainfall than normal, while Haryana's shortfall stands at 100.1 mm, according to figures released by the IMD on Monday.
The IMD's withdrawal map accompanying the bulletin shows the September 21 withdrawal line advancing across northwestern India, while its state maps highlight wide district-level variations in seasonal rainfall across Punjab and Haryana. The latest withdrawal marks a further retreat of the southwest monsoon across northwest India, after the process began in western Rajasthan.
IMD criteria for withdrawal include sustained cessation of rainfall, reduction in atmospheric moisture, and establishment of an anticyclonic circulation in the lower troposphere.
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