The Southwest Monsoon has withdrawn from Delhi on Wednesday, September 23, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) says. This is the earliest withdrawal of the monsoon from Delhi since 2002, when it had retreated 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The monsoon has also withdrawn from most parts of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, along with parts of Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.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.
