The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced that the Southwest Monsoon officially withdrew from Delhi on Wednesday, September 23. This marks the earliest monsoon retreat from the capital since 2002, when it left on September 20.
The monsoon has also withdrawn from most parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, along with parts of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
The IMD said the monsoon’s withdrawal line now passes through Gurdaspur, Chandigarh, Muzaffarnagar, Aligarh, Dholpur, Udaipur, Deesa and Naliya, among other places.
Now, drier weather is expected to gradually set in across Delhi and other parts of northwestern India as the monsoon moves further away. Monsoon withdrawal does not mean that rain immediately stops everywhere. The IMD declares withdrawal after looking at several weather conditions, including a sustained break in rainfall, a drop in moisture levels and the development of an anticyclone in the lower atmosphere. For further withdrawal, the IMD also looks for a continued spell of dry weather and a clear, connected pattern of retreat.
