Southwest monsoon finally departs from Northeast region: IMD

GUWAHATI/AGARTALA: After two weeks delay, the southwest monsoon finally withdrew on Wednesday from the entire Northeast, said officials.

A scientist of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the southwest monsoon withdrew from the Northeast region and and most part of India on Wednesday.

"The withdrawal of monsoon was delayed by two weeks this year. The delay is more or less a normal phenomenon," said the IMD scientist on condition of anonymity.

"Though the southwest monsoon officially ended on September 30, it normally withdraws in the first or second week of October."

The four-month-long (June to September) monsoon was the most uneven in the mountainous north-eastern region this year.

Four of the eight north-eastern States, including Assam, received excess rain while the remaining four reported rainfall deficit.

Even as the IMD termed 19 per cent excess or shortage in rainfall as a "normal" monsoon, Himalayan State Sikkim and mountainous Meghalaya recorded 60 and 39 per cent excess rainfall, respectively, while Manipur and Mizoram witnessed 47 and 34 per cent deficient rainfall, respectively, during June to September.

The withdrawal of monsoon from west Rajasthan and parts of Punjab started on September 28 while its withdrawal in the northeast normally takes place second week of October.

IMD scientist RanjanPhukan said as the monsoon trough was mostly active along the foothills of the Himalayas, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya recorded good and heavy monsoon rains. (IANS)

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