Minimum temperatures to dip Jharkhand in the next 72 hours: IMD

Ranchi: The Ranchi office of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday forecast a dip in minimum temperatures in the city and across Jharkhand during the next three days, beginning Friday. Night-time mercury is expected to by two-three notches over the weekend, it said.Abhishek Anand, scientist at IMD Ranchi, said minimum temperature is likely to dip due to the influence of north-westerly wind blowing to the state. “Due to the western disturbance, north-west India is experiencing heavy rain and hailstorms. So, the wind blowing from that region to Jharkhand is likely to affect the minimum temperature here from Friday to Sunday,” Anand said.He said that the minimum temperature will not witness any significant change till Feb 10. “However, only after Feb 11, the minimum temperature is likely to rise.”The minimum temperature is currently hovering between 9 – 13 °C in the state. On Thursday, Ranchi recorded a minimum temperature of 13.4 °C while Jamshedpur recorded 15. 7 °C. Daltonganj recorded 11.1 °C while Bokaro recorded 12.6 °C. At 9.7 °C, Gumla recorded the lowest minimum temperature in Jharkhand in the past 24 hours.Meanwhile, the maximum temperatures across Jharkhand have started showing a rising trend above the normal temperature.Ranchi, on Thursday recorded a maximum temperature of 26.2 °C, 0.1 °C increase from the normal, Jmashedpur 30.2 °C, a 1.2 °C rise from the normal, Daltonganj 29.2 °C, 1.7 °C increase, Bokaro 28.2 °C, a 3.6 °C increase, and Chaibasa recorded 30.8 °C, the highest in the state, marking a 3.1 °C increase from the normal temperature.The met department issuing an extended range forecast for the state till Feb 19, said that dry weather is most likely to prevail in the state during the period. “While normal to above normal maximum temperature is likely to be observed in the state, within the range of 24-31 °C from Feb 6 till Feb 12. The maximum temperature will lie in the range of 26-33 °C from Feb 13 to Feb 19 across the state,” an IMD bulletin said.