Monsoon begins to withdraw in Maharashtra, may end in next 4-5 days

The southwest monsoon started withdrawing from Maharashtra on Wednesday, with the season officially expected to end in the next four to five days, declared the weather bureau

The southwest monsoon started withdrawing from Maharashtra on Wednesday, with the season officially expected to end in the next four to five days, declared the weather bureau.

“The northern tip of the withdrawal line is passing through Veraval and Surat in Gujarat and Jalgaon and Gondia in Maharashtra. Some rainfall activity has been recorded in Osmanabad and Latur areas of Marathwada,” said KS Hosalikar, deputy director general, western region, India Meteorological Department.The southwest monsoon lasts around four months in the state – from June to September.

This year, the monsoon officially arrived in the state on June 7; and in Mumbai on June 9. Last year, the southwest monsoon withdrawal over Maharashtra began on October 16; and from Mumbai on October 24.

This monsoon, Mumbai recorded 2,239.6mm rain over four months, which was 18.4mm less than the season’s average (2258mm). Last year, the city had recorded 3,029.9mm rain, highest in six years. With a recurring dry spell from August 23 till the end of September, the weather bureau said rainfall recorded during this September was the lowest in 27 years.

The weather bureau has predicted light showers or thundershowers in the evening or night for Mumbai on Thursday. “We have also issued a warning to fishermen in Maharashtra and Goa for the next five days owing to the formation of a low pressure area (weather system) over southeast Arabian Sea. It is expected to intensity into a depression and move north-west wards over the next 48 hours into a cyclonic storm (weather system). This might bring some rainfall over the north Konkan coast, including Mumbai,” said Hosalikar.

The city, meanwhile, witnessed haze through the day on Wednesday, and the air quality index (AQI) – pollutant measuring indicator – was 127 (moderate category). Worli recorded the most polluted air in the city, with an AQI of 322 (very poor), followed by Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) at 140 (moderate), and Colaba at 137 (moderate).

The System of Air Quality Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) has predicted an AQI of 130 (moderate) for Thursday.