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Jamshedpur, July 2: After moving north and staying there for more than a week, the all-important monsoon trough drifted back over Jharkhand yesterday, bringing with it promise of widespread rain after 48 hours.
Helping matters was a cyclonic circulation over north Bay of Bengal and Gangetic Bengal, signalling revival of a monsoon that has remained largely dormant since June 24, after arriving in the state on June 19.
“We are expecting a good spell of rain in the next few days as the monsoon trough has revived and the cyclonic circulation is in place. While rain will be isolated in the next 24 hours, it will pick up momentum after two days,” said A.K. Sen, director of Patna Meteorological Office.
The shower bounty will be evenly distributed over Jharkhand, Bihar and Bengal.
A duty officer at the Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore in Calcutta said the fact that Simdega and Gumla received a good spell of rain last night, indicated the restoration of the monsoon trough. While Simdega experienced heavy rainfall, recording 77.8mm, Gumla received a healthy 34.2mm.
However, Jharkhand’s June rain count stood at 129.8mm, against a normal of 206.7mm, a deficit of 37 per cent. Last year, the June rainfall deficit had only been 7 per cent.
Topping the rain deficit chart this year was Garhwa with a shortfall of 88 per cent followed by Deoghar with 81 per cent and Gumla with 70 per cent. Capital Ranchi received 108.5mm rain in June, against a normal of 170.5mm, a deficit of over 35 per cent. East Singhbhum fared better with only a 14 per cent deficit.
Among the rainfall surplus districts were Khunti, Simdega and Lohardaga.
Along with signs of a monsoon revival, easterly winds also helped bring down maximum temperatures in most districts. Heat chamber Daltonganj today recorded a maximum of 37.4°C, against yesterday’s oppressive 40.1°C. Similarly, day temperatures fell in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro, Deoghar, Hazaribagh, Koderma and several other districts.
Scientists, however, allayed fears about the effects of deficit rain in June. “The deficit is not detrimental for kharif crops. The present situation is not alarming. Only if it doesn’t rain in the first two weeks of July should we be worried,” said A. Wadood, an agriculture scientist at Birsa Agriculture University.
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