Monsoon retreat late by a month, unlikely to start before early October

The monsoon gnerally begins in June and starts to retreat by September 1

Current weather conditions indicate that India's monsoon is unlikely to start receding before early October, more than a month later than usual, the head of the weather office said on Friday.

Annual monsoon rains are crucial for India's $2.75 trillion farm-dependent economy. The monsoon gnerally begins in June and starts to retreat by Sept. 1, but rains have continued beyond that date this year and triggered fatal floods in western India, killing hundreds of people.

"The withdrawal of the monsoon, which is already delayed, is ruled out for at least the next 10 days as weather conditions have not become favourable for