Monsoon to withdraw from Chandigarh in first week of October

Light showers to continue till then, but weatherman rules out heavy spell

After a delayed onset of monsoon this year, India Meteorological Department (IMD) is expecting the withdrawal to be delayed as well. It is expected to happen in the first week of October, said IMD director Surender Paul.

“In 1990s, monsoon withdrawal used to happen in the second week of September. In 2001, it happened on September 18. It has been shifting further over the years,” said Paul. “Last year, too, it got delayed till October, and the same is expected this year.”

In the past five years, monsoon has withdrawn from the region between September 28 and October 5.

Paul attributed this to the changing climatic trends. “Monsoon is getting spread over larger region. Earlier, it would only come up to only Punjab and Haryana. Now, the system goes beyond that into Pakistan as well,” he said. “Western disturbances that blow against the direction of monsoon winds have also started weakening around this time, letting the system travel further.”

Even as the monsoon will continue for at least three more week, the weatherman said spells of heavy rain remain unlikely. “The monsoon system has been weakened. Only light rain up to 20mm is likely due to convectional currents caused by high temperatures and humidity,” said an IMD scientist, added that mercury will remain on the higher side till the end of this month.

Meanwhile, rain remains unlikely in the next three days, with a chance of light showers on Wednesday. Maximum temperature, which rose slightly from 34.7°C on Sunday to 34.9°C on Monday, will remain between 35 and 36 degrees. Minimum temperature, which fell from 27.8°C to 26.4°C, will be between 26 and 27 degrees.