India May Bid Farewell To Its Monsoon Season By Oct. 20
The monsoon season officially ends on Sept. 30 but it lingers around for over a fortnight in parts of the country.
The southwest monsoon will most likely withdraw completely from the country on Oct. 20, the India Meteorological Department said today.
“Southwest Monsoon has fully not withdrawn from the country,” Sathi Devi, head of the National Weather Forecasting Centre of the IMD, said. “We expect monsoon to withdraw completely from the country on Oct. 20.”
The monsoon season officially starts on June 1 and ends on Sept. 30. Its withdrawal starts from western Rajasthan from Sept. 1. The official withdrawal date for the monsoon is Sept. 30. However, it continues to linger on in parts of the country. It takes more than a fortnight to completely withdraw.
The Southwest Monsoon is the lifeline of the country that not only aids agriculture, the prime contributor to the gross domestic product, but has a far reaching impact on the economy. What precedes southwest monsoon is the northeast monsoon that gives rain to several parts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry.
This year, the country received rainfall 91 percent of long period average, which falls under the “below normal” category. East and northeast India, including Bihar, West Bengal and northeastern states witnessed maximum rainfall deficiency.
On the other hand, Kerala witnessed unprecedented rainfall and subsequent flooding.