The India Meteorological Department said conditions are turning favourable for southwest monsoon withdrawal from parts of West Rajasthan around September 19, as the season's all-India rainfall deficit reaches 15%.

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• IMD said conditions are becoming favourable for withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from some parts of West Rajasthan around September 19, 2026.
• The retreat begins two days later than the normal withdrawal date of September 17, though earlier than last year's onset of withdrawal on September 14.
• IMD had earlier indicated the monsoon could begin withdrawing anywhere between September 19 and 25 from parts of northwest India.
• The withdrawal process starts from West Rajasthan and typically completes across the entire country by around October 15 each year.
• Withdrawal requires cessation of rainfall for several consecutive days, formation of a lower-tropospheric anticyclone, and a marked drop in atmospheric moisture over the region.
• Despite the deficit, IMD recorded very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall over Sikkim, Jammu-Kashmir, Punjab and several other states in mid-September.
• A low-pressure area over Saurashtra and the adjoining northeast Arabian Sea continued to drive active rainfall across parts of western India through the week.
• An upper-air cyclonic circulation was tracked moving toward the north Andaman Sea, where a fresh low-pressure area was expected to form around September 19.
• The southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala by June 1 and covers the entire country by early July each year.
• Northwest, central and south peninsular India recorded above-normal seasonal rainfall this year, while east and northeast India logged a below-normal deficit.
• Monsoon rainfall is critical for India's agriculture, irrigating roughly half the country's net cultivated area and replenishing reservoirs for drinking water and power.
• IMD forecast further widespread rain this week across northwest, west and south peninsular India even as the withdrawal process gets underway.

Tags: SouthwestMonsoon, IMDWithdrawal, IndianMonsoon2026