The south west monsoon is likely to start withdrawing from north and north western India from Thursday onwards. In a press release, Ministry of Earth Sciences has said that the current spell of rains over these parts is likely to be over by today. The release says normally the monsoon starts withdrawing in the first week of September. According to officials monsoon will retreat from most parts of the country by the end of this month. Monsoon season has been good this year with 85 per cent area of the country receiving normal to excess rainfall.