The South West Monsoon withdrew from most parts of Odisha on Monday signalling the end of rainy season which recorded a rare zero percent deviation this year.
The India Meteorological Department announced that monsoon withdrew from Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Bargarh, Balangir, Nuapada, Sonepur, Kalahandi, Deogarh and parts of the districts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Angul, Boudh, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri.
The withdrawal line passes through Gangtok, Malda, Bankura, Keonjhar and Koraput and conditions are also favourable for further withdrawal of the monsoon from remaining parts of Odisha during the next two to three days, the weather office said.
During the season, Odisha received 1,149- mm rain which is exactly what the State’s normal rainfall is on record. It was a rare year of exact normal rainfall.
The season, however, had started on a gloomy note. June had recorded (-) 23 per cent rainfall while July saw a drop of 3 per cent. With a 14 per cent above normal, August brought hope while September was a normal month too with 6 per cent excess rainfall.
The IMD revealed that as many as 10 low pressure areas formed along the Indian coast during the season but none intensified into a depression.
Normally four to six monsoon depressions form in a season as has been the trend between 2002 and 2010. Of the 10 low pressures, five were formed in succession during August. None formed in June and it was the first occasion since 1981, when no low pressure formed during June.
The 2012 monsoon saw extended spells of subdued rainfall activity which it described as un-organised convective activity which is a characteristic of weak monsoon phases but it contributed significantly to the seasonal rainfall.
The weather office explained the truant nature of prediction. While forecast for August was correct, other months saw either over or under-estimations.
“The main reason for under-estimation of the forecast for the second half of monsoon was delay in establishment of El Nino conditions in the Pacific and sudden emergence of positive phase of Indian Ocean Dipole during later part of the season.
Both of these large-scale features may have contributed to increased rainfall activity particularly during the second half,” the weather office pointed out.