The Hindu Business Line : Monsoon receding from N-W region

"The live systems over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal would not affect the withdrawal... It looks like the rain activity will now be confined within the peninsula."

Thiruvananthapuram , Sept. 24

THE southwest monsoon has set off on its long-drawn withdrawal process from the Indian landmass with the clouds lifting clean over parts of Punjab and West Rajasthan.

But, moderate to heavy showers will continue to hold in parts of the North-East, Central India and the peninsula thanks to active weather systems over the seas on either side of the peninsula.

According to Dr M. Rajeevan, Director, Forecasting, India Meteorological Department (IMD), the North-West can now look forward to rain, if at all, from the western disturbances that drift in from the West to East.

Western disturbances have been defined as the eastward moving extra-tropical upper air trough in sub-tropical westerlies, often extending to the lower atmospheric levels of the northern Indian latitudes during winter months.

Speaking to Business Line, Dr Rajeevan said monsoon withdrawal process has started from the North-West. It is a slow process and will take a lot of time.

Replying to a specific question, he said the live systems over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal would not affect the withdrawal. "It looks like the rain activity will now be confined within the peninsula," he added.

The US-based Global Weather Services (GWS) also agreed with the prognosis, and said monsoon rains would decrease in coverage by the weekend and into the next.

The lull would be felt from the eastern and southern parts of India into the growing areas in the North-Central.

Dry and hot weather will continue to hold in most of the North-West save for isolated thundershowers.

However, GWS saw showers and thunderstorms expanding coverage by the middle of the next week over central India and the North-East.

Maharashtra, East Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, East Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and the Northeast will receive moderate to heavy rainfall during the period. Haryana, Punjab and East Rajasthan will see hardly any rain.

Wet spell for TN: Under the influence of a feeble trough of low pressure over the South Bay off northern Tamil Nadu coast, widespread rainfall has been forecast for the State over the next two days, according to a special bulletin issued by the Met Office, Chennai.

The system is expected to move towards the North-West bringing rainfall to many places over North Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry with isolated showers at a few places over South Tamil Nadu over the next two days.

Chennai city and suburbs, which recorded 2 cm of rainfall overnight, are likely to receive more showers.

Andippatti recorded 5 cm, followed by Vellore, Udumalpet and Omalur with 4 cm each.

In Kerala, rain occurred at a few places during the 24 hours ending Friday morning. Chief amounts of rainfall (in cm) are: Kollam-6; Chengannur and Neyyattinkara-4 each; Angadippuram and Thiruvalla-3 each; Agathy, Punalur and Kumarakom-2 each; and Cherthala-1.

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