A new session is about to begin and its time for the monsoons to go.

The monsoons have started widrawing from India, eight days behind the normal date of September 17, the India Meteorological Department said.

"The southwest monsoon has withdrawn from parts of southwest Rajasthan today, September 25, 2023, against its normal date of withdrawal from southwest Rajasthan September 17," it said in a statement.

This year Monsoon is the 13th consecutive delayed retreat.

The withdrawal of monsoon from northwest India marks the beginning of its retreat from the Indian subcontinent.

Any delay in the monsoon's retreat means a longer rainy season, which can significantly impact agricultural production, particularly for northwest India where monsoon rainfall plays a crucial role in the Rabi crop production, as reported by the TimesofIndia.

Typically, the southwest monsoon makes its onset over Kerala by June 1 and covers the entire country by July 8.

It starts retreating from northwest India around September 17, withdrawing entirely by October 15.

This years monsoon received 796.4 mm of rain so far, compared to a normal of 843.2 mm, representing a deficit of six per cent. Rainfall between 94 per cent and 106 per cent of the long-period average (LPA) is considered normal.

Normally, the country receives an average of 870 mm of precipitation during the four- month monsoon season (June to September).

In a pre-monsoon briefing, the IMD had predicted a normal monsoon for India, albeit on the lower side of normal.

The El Niño conditions have also influenced the weather of India too, resulting in weaker monsoon winds and drier conditions in India.

The Indian monsoon refers to inherent fluctuations and changes that occur over time due to various natural factors.

This is called natural variability. However, research shows climate change is making monsoon more variable. Increased variability means more extreme weather and dry spells.