Monsoon ends with a deficit in Haryana; Gurugram short by 43%

Southwest monsoon officially ended on Monday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), and left a rainfall deficit of 43% in Gurugram, the maximum

Southwest monsoon officially ended on Monday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), and left a rainfall deficit of 43% in Gurugram, the maximum in the city in the last three years, according to data with the department. Gurugram received 284.7mm rainfall this monsoon as against a normal of 503.3mm. Last year, the city had recorded an excess of 40% at the end of September, while in 2017, the deficit was 19%.

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Rainfall deficit was prevalent across the state this monsoon, as per the IMD. Haryana was the second-most rain deficit state in the country, as of September 30. The state recorded rainfall of 255.2 mm against a normal of 438.6 mm, leading to a deficit of 42%. Manipur was the most rain deficit with a recording of 56%, as per the IMD.

However, the all-India average rainfall this monsoon stood at 968.3 mm and recorded an “above normal” figure of 10%, as per the IMD. The country recorded the highest rainfall for the four-month period (June to September) in 25 years, meteorologists said. According to the IMD, out of 36 sub divisions in the country, five sub divisions, however, received deficient rainfall, but deficiency was approximately 20% except for Haryana, Delhi and Chandigarh where the deficiency was around 42%.

The quantum of rainfall received by parts of north-west India has been lower than that in other areas, according to experts. “Not many significant weather systems developed over north-west regions, including Haryana and Delhi. The weather systems that originated from the Bay of Bengal remained concentrated over central India,” said Mahesh Palawat, vice-president, meteorology at Skymet weather services, a private forecaster.

The region receives monsoon rain due to an interaction between the low-pressure circulations formed over the Bay of Bengal that move from the east to the west, and the Western Disturbances that move from the west to east.

“Weather systems forming over the Bay of Bengal reached Rajasthan and occasionally interacted with the Western Disturbances causing heavy rainfall there and in central India. However, this interaction remained elusive over Haryana and Delhi,” senior IMD scientist Kuldeep Srivastava said, adding that this is a part of monsoon variability.

As per the IMD, the withdrawal of southwest monsoon is likely to commence from northwest India around October 10 against the normal date of September 1. Active conditions still prevail over parts of Rajasthan, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, as per experts, and northwestern regions are likely to get scattered rainfall.

The NCR has been receiving light, scattered rainfall over the last three to four days due to the presence of a cyclonic circulation and southeast winds carrying moisture, as per experts. On September 21, the city even received hail due to the winds.