Retreating monsoon season commences with the beginning of the withdrawal of the south-west monsoon and lasts till early January.
It is a 3-month long process where it starts from the peninsula in October and from the extreme south-eastern tip by December.
The retreating southwest monsoon season is marked by clear skies and rise in temperature. The land is still moist. Owing to the conditions of high temperature and humidity, the weather becomes rather oppressive. This is commonly known as the October heat.
The weather in the retreating monsoon is dry in north India but it is associated with rain in the eastern part of the Peninsula. Here, October and November are the rainiest months of the year.
