Jharkhand Weather: Cooler May Thanks to Rain, Thunderstorms

Ranchi: The state is experiencing a cooler May compared to the past five to seven years, with weather experts attributing the dip in temperatures to rain, lightning, thunderstorm and hailstorms almost regularly since the last week of April.

Heat wave-like conditions prevailed in Ranchi and most of the state in the second and third week of April, with the maximum temperature touching 40 degrees Celsius in the state capital for a day or two and recording at least between 39C and 40C on most days. The temperature crossed the 40C mark in several districts in the state during the period.

But things changed from the last week of April, said Abhishek Anand, scientist and deputy director of Ranchi Met office, on Tuesday.

He said, “A trough now runs from an upper air cyclonic circulation over southwest Madhya Pradesh to Manipur across east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Gangetic West Bengal and extends up to 0.9 km above mean sea level. As a result there is moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal, and the moisture along with the trough is creating a conducive environment for the prevailing cool weather in Ranchi and other parts of the state.”

During the past 24 hours till Tuesday morning, light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorm occurred at isolated places over the state. The highest rainfall of 44.6 mm was recorded at Ramgarh.

The highest maximum temperature of 39.0°C was recorded at Daltonganj, while the lowest of 19.8°C was recorded at Namkum. Ranchi recorded a maximum of 31.8C and a minimum of 21.4C.