Southwest monsoon withdraws from India

The IMD stated that from 1975-2021, only seven times had the monsoon withdrawn after the 25th or beyond. Interestingly, six of them have been since 2000. Last year, which saw record-breaking rainfall in India that was 9% more than the long period average, also saw the southwest monsoon fully withdraw only on October 28.

While September is usually the month that marks the beginning of the end, for the monsoon’s four month sojourn over India, 2021 has seen significant rainfall, with India posting 135% more rain than what's normal of for the season.

When August ended, India appeared to be dangerously close to a rainfall deficit and almost 9% short of what is normal from June–August end.