The southwest monsoon continued its retreat on Monday, with the withdrawal line passing through Gurdaspur, Chandigarh, Muzaffarnagar, Aligarh, Dholpur, Udaipur, Deesa and Naliya.

The monsoon has now withdrawn from Punjab, the Chandigarh-Haryana-Delhi belt, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat, according to the India Meteorological Department.

A residual low-pressure area over east Uttar Pradesh, left over from an earlier deep depression, has weakened as the withdrawal sped up across the north.

Even as the monsoon exits the north, the south is in for heavy rain. Isolated heavy showers are expected over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal for three days, south interior Karnataka for four days and Kerala and Mahe for four days.

The IMD also said south-westerly winds over the Arabian Sea could give way to easterlies around October 7, with the Bay of Bengal following around October 12.

This season’s rainfall has run 15 per cent below normal nationally, with the South Peninsula facing a sharper shortfall of about 28 per cent.