India: Monsoon Withdrawal Delayed

A heavy 2024 southwest monsoon season has caused flooding and water logging in several central India states, leading to crop damage and expected lower agricultural production. India’s Meteorological Department (IMD) indicated that monsoon withdrawal was delayed by a week to September 23 and is likely to further exacerbate crop damage during harvest. Through September 24, cumulative rainfall is five percent above the fifty-year average/long-period average (LPA), with excess rains reported in both central and southern India (15 percent above LPA). Consequently, overall reservoir storage levels are much improved and bode well for Rabi (winter-sown) crops.