THE RETREATING MONSOON

THE RETREATING MONSOON The amount and frequency of rain decreases towards the end of the rainy season. It retreats gradually southwards after mid-September until it leaves the continent altogether. The Punjab plains which receive the South-West Monsoon earliest are the first to see the withdrawal of the monsoon. The skies are clear again and the cool, dry season returns in October, with the outblowing North-East Monsoon. The role of monsoons in India is vital in its economy. A late monsoon or one that ends far too early will condemn large stretches of agricultural land to drought. There will be widespread famine from crop failure and thousands will perish. When there is too much water from the rainy monsoons, severe floods occur, destroying both crops and lives and disrupting communications. In no part of the world has the climate affected Man's way of life so profoundly as in the monsoon lands.