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Monsoon's final push: Satellite captures thunderstorms roaring over North India
An INSAT-3DS satellite image showed widespread cloud systems over much of India on Thursday. The picture underlined that even as monsoon withdrawal nears, multiple weather systems remain active.
India’s southwest monsoon may be nearing its withdrawal phase, but a satellite view of the country on Thursday shows that the atmosphere remains highly active, with large cloud systems spread across several regions.
The INSAT-3DS thermal-infrared image captured between 12:00 and 12:27 pm IST on September 17 shows extensive cloud cover over northern, central, eastern and southern parts of the country.
The brightest cloud patches in the infrared image represent very cold cloud tops and can indicate deep convective activity, although the image alone cannot determine rainfall intensity.
One of the most prominent weather zones is over Gujarat, Rajasthan and adjoining central India, where a low-pressure area over Saurashtra and the adjoining northeast Arabian Sea is influencing weather conditions.
The associated cyclonic circulation extends through the lower and middle atmosphere, while the monsoon trough passes through the system and extends eastwards towards the northeast Bay of Bengal.
The satellite image also shows significant cloudiness over the Himalayan foothills and northern India, stretching across areas around Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and adjoining regions.
The India Meteorological Department has forecast widespread rain, thunderstorms and gusty winds across several parts of northwest India in the coming days.
Further east, extensive cloud bands cover Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and the Northeast, indicating continued moisture and convective activity over eastern India.
Southern India is also not quiet. Large clusters of clouds are visible over the southern peninsula and adjoining Bay of Bengal, with another prominent convective zone over the waters south and southeast of India.
An additional trough currently extends from southern interior Karnataka towards the Gulf of Mannar across Tamil Nadu.
The satellite picture comes as India approaches the seasonal transition. The IMD has said conditions are becoming favourable for the southwest monsoon to begin withdrawing from parts of west Rajasthan around September 19, slightly later than the normal withdrawal date of September 17.
However, the withdrawal does not mean an immediate end to rainfall. Multiple weather systems remain active, and the IMD has forecast rain and thunderstorms across parts of northwest, central, eastern, northeastern and southern India through the coming days.
The INSAT-3DS image therefore captures an unusual transition: the monsoon is beginning to retreat, but its moisture and weather systems are still generating widespread cloud activity across India.
