UditVani, Jamshedpur: With conditions turning increasingly favourable for the advance of the Southwest Monsoon, Jharkhand is set to witness a spell of thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds over the next few days, offering relief from the prevailing heatwave-like conditions.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday said atmospheric conditions are conducive for the monsoon’s further advance into eastern India, including Odisha, West Bengal and adjoining regions, raising hopes of an early onset over Jharkhand.
Before the arrival of monsoon, however, the state continues to reel under intense heat.
According to the IMD’s realised weather report issued from the Ranchi Meteorological Centre, Daltonganj remained the hottest place in Jharkhand with a maximum temperature of 43.1°C during the past 24 hours. Jamshedpur recorded 41.3°C, while Chaibasa registered 40.8°C.
Ranchi witnessed a maximum temperature of 37.2°C, around 1.5°C above normal.
Night temperatures also remained above normal across most parts of the state, indicating persistent warm conditions.
While no significant rainfall was reported at major observatories, localized thunderstorm activity was observed in some pockets. Among the Automated Weather Stations (AWS), Sikatia in Deoghar district recorded the highest rainfall of 39.4 mm during the past 24 hours.
The IMD has issued a series of thunderstorm and lightning alerts across Jharkhand.
On June 9, isolated places over southern and adjoining central districts, including Ranchi, Ramgarh, Bokaro, Gumla and Khunti, are likely to experience thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph.
On June 10, similar weather conditions are expected across most parts of the state, except the north-western districts and adjoining central areas such as Koderma and Hazaribagh. Weather activity is likely to intensify further on June 11, when gusty winds of 50-60 kmph may occur over north-eastern and adjoining central districts, including Dhanbad, Bokaro, Koderma, Hazaribagh, Ramgarh and Ranchi.
The remaining districts are expected to witness thunderstorms with wind speeds of 40-50 kmph.
Thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph are also likely at isolated places across the state on June 12 and 13.Meteorologists attributed the changing weather pattern to multiple atmospheric systems influencing eastern and central India.
A trough currently extends from East Uttar Pradesh to North Coastal Andhra Pradesh across Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, while another trough runs from East Bihar to the northwest Bay of Bengal through Gangetic West Bengal.
These systems are enhancing moisture incursion and triggering convective activity over Jharkhand.The IMD said the Southwest Monsoon has advanced further into parts of the Arabian Sea, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
With favourable wind patterns and moisture supply continuing, conditions are expected to support its advance into eastern India during the next two to three days.The weather office has advised people to remain vigilant during thunderstorm activity, avoid taking shelter under trees, stay away from open fields during lightning events and follow official weather advisories.
If the current trend persists, monsoon could make its entry into Jharkhand shortly after advancing into neighbouring Odisha and West Bengal, bringing widespread rainfall and a significant drop in temperatures across the state.
