Lull in south cuts down rain surplus by a notch

The continuing lull in peninsular India has brought down the overall monsoon surplus by a percentage point to three per cent on Monday.

This is even as a heavy to very heavy precipitation in east and northeast India led to corresponding gains with the accumulated deficit in the region being revised lower to 13 per cent.

‘LOW' PREVAILS

The causative well-marked ‘low' maintained its stubborn presence over north-west Bihar against an approaching monsoon withdrawal line from just to the west.

Meanwhile, global forecasts indicate wet weather returning to east peninsular India by the month-end and into early next.

This would come about with the Bay of Bengal likely getting influenced by the ongoing stormy weather in the north-west Pacific and adjoining South China Sea.

An India Meteorological Department (IMD) update on Monday said that the monsoon has withdrawn from entire Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, some more parts of Rajasthan and west Uttar Pradesh.

RAIN IN EAST

The withdrawal line passes through Bareilly, Agra, Sawai Madhopur, Udaipur, Deesa and Porbandar.

The 24 hours ending Monday morning saw widespread rainfall being recorded over Bihar, east Uttar Pradesh, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

It was fairly widespread over Gangetic West Bengal and Jharkhand and scattered over the North-eastern States and Orissa.

WEATHER WARNING

A weather warning valid for the next two days said that scattered heavy to very heavy rainfall would occur over Bihar and sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim on Tuesday and isolated heavy thereafter.

Isolated heavy rainfall has also been forecast over Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday and Wednesday.

An outlook valid until Saturday said that scattered rain or thundershowers would continue to occur over the North-eastern States.

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