Withdrawal of monsoon to resume as Phailin weakens

New Delhi: As cyclonic storm Phailin weakens and moves ahead in the sub-Himalayan region over the next 48 hours, the delayed process of withdrawal of monsoon in North India is likely to resume.

According to MET department, conditions now indicate further withdrawal of southwest monsoon from remaining parts of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, entire Uttarakhand, parts of west Uttar Pradesh, west Madhya Pradesh and some more parts of Gujarat around October 17. Until 19 September, the Southwest Monsoon had withdrawn from entire Jammu & Kashmir, parts of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab some parts of Haryana Rajasthan and some parts of Kutch. The withdrawal of monsoon has already been delayed by more than a month. In September, a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal halted the withdrawal of monsoon. No sooner did the process again start than the cyclonic storm Phailin again pushed it back. The southwest monsoon line is still at Kalpa, Hissar, Jodhpur and Naliya as it was until September 19. "As Phailin weakens further, we hope the withdrawal should start by October 17," said a scientist at the Meteorological Department. In Delhi monsoon withdraws around September 15 while it withdraws around September 20 in Mumbai.