The monsoon season may have officially ended on paper on Wednesday, but its withdrawal from Uttar Pradesh is likely to take another two to three days, with the process stalled since September 23 due to a depression over central parts of the state, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The delay comes as the state recorded more than 802 mm of monsoon rainfall this season, crossing the 800-mm mark for the first time in 11 years. The rainfall pushed UP’s seasonal total to 8% above normal, with the excess concentrated largely in western parts of the state. “Theoretically, the four-month monsoon season, from June 1 to September 30, has ended. UP received 802 mm of rainfall against its long-period average (LPA) of 742.2 mm, a surplus of 8%, according to IMD officials. East UP recorded 816.5 mm against an average of 793.6 mm, a surplus of 3%, while west UP received 781.2 mm against an average of 670.2 mm, a surplus of 17%. A well-marked low-pressure area over northern parts of central UP, along with its associated cyclonic circulation that moved north-northwestwards across the state, triggered extremely heavy rainfall between September 25 and 27. IMD data shows Farrukhabad recorded the highest rainfall at 307.7 mm, while Lucknow received 180.4 mm.
The withdrawal of the southwest monsoon began from western UP on September 23, four days ahead of its normal schedule, but made no further progress thereafter due to the influence of the depression that moved across central UP.
However, withdrawal from the remaining parts of UP is likely to take another few days,” said Atul Kumar Singh, senior scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Lucknow. “Conditions are now likely to become favourable for further withdrawal of monsoon from remaining parts of the state during the next two to three days,” Singh said. “The latest position of monsoon withdrawal is passing through the western extremity of the state from Agra to Muzaffarnagar via Aligarh,” he said.
