Monsoon withdraws from Bengal, dry spell ahead: IMD
The Statesman | 15 October 2025The India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed the withdrawal on Monday, noting that the line of retreat now passes through Karwar, Kalburgi, Nizamabad, Kanker, Keonjhargarh, Sagar Island and Guwahati.
With the monsoon’s departure, dry northwesterly winds have begun to sweep across south Bengal, signalling a seasonal transition. “Dry winds are now entering even the lower levels of the atmosphere over south Bengal. This indicates a clear shift in wind flow from the Bay of Bengal towards northern India,” said a Met official at Alipore. The IMD recorded no rainfall anywhere in West Bengal in the 24 hours till 8.30 a.m. on Monday. In Kolkata, the maximum temperature stood at 31 degrees Celsius and the minimum at 24 degrees Celsius—both close to normal for this time of the year.
The forecast for the city suggests a partly cloudy sky till Tuesday morning, followed by mainly dry conditions in the days ahead. Typically, the monsoon withdraws from Kolkata between 10 and 12 October. This year’s retreat came close to the usual schedule, though October saw a prolonged wet spell. The city recorded a surplus of rainfall, with several heavy showers triggered by successive weather systems over the Bay of Bengal and active monsoon currents. Meteorologists said that the merging of dry northeasterly winds with moisture-laden winds from the Bay often led to localised thunderstorms, contributing to the excess precipitation.
An upper-air cyclonic circulation currently lies over the southwest Bay and the adjoining Tamil Nadu coast, but the IMD clarified that it is unlikely to impact south Bengal. Earlier, the national weather bulletin had indicated that conditions were favourable for the monsoon’s withdrawal from the remaining parts of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha, Telangana and finally from the Northeast within the next few days.
The southwest monsoon had begun its retreat from Rajasthan around 17 September—slightly ahead of schedule—but was briefly stalled by a deep depression over the Bay that made landfall in Odisha during Dashami. With its final withdrawal from West Bengal on Monday, the state now braces for a dry and cooler spell in the weeks ahead.
