Evening drizzles on Wednesday signalled monsoon magic this weekend.
Cloud hovered over the city skies from the afternoon, prompting light rainfall in the evening. The rain-bearing winds would become more active by Friday, four days after reaching the state. Ashish Sen, the director at the Patna meteorological centre, claimed that the monsoon current would gain steam around June 26. Thereafter, the state is likely to receive rainfall till July 3.
Meteorologists claimed that the Bay of Bengal-wing of the monsoon, which causes majority of the precipitation in Bihar, was weak so far because of a depression - a low-pressure area that attracts winds towards it - in the Arabian Sea.
"The depression in the Arabian Sea is obstructing the moisture support to the Bay of Bengal-wing of the monsoon, thereby weakening it. We are expecting the depression to be neutralised by tonight (Wednesday), following which the monsoon current is likely to become active from June 26. Light rainfall could commence from Thursday, followed by medium to heavy rainfall in most parts of the state till July 3," said Sen.
The weather in the city has been unbearable over the past few days because of the absence of cloud cover amid high humidity. The mercury soared to 35°C and the relative humidity was 43 per cent at 2pm on Wednesday. The RealFeel temperature, as calculated by AccuWeather.com, was 48°C around that time.
Met chief Sen claimed that the maximum temperature could plunge from the prevailing 37-38°C to 33°C as soon as the monsoon current became active from Friday.
The delayed entry of monsoon this year has led to rainfall deficiency in the state. As on Wednesday, Bihar had received 38mm monsoon rainfall in June against the corresponding normal of 114mm - a deficiency of 67 per cent.
The IMD in its revised long-range forecast for the southwest monsoon issued on June 2 had stated that the northeastern meteorological sub-division of the country, including Bihar, is expected to receive 90 per cent monsoon rainfall this year.
Weathermen at the Met centre claimed that Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were faring the worst with regard to the monsoon rainfall. "The overall southwest monsoon rainfall for the entire country stands at 10 per cent surplus but several eastern states, especially Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, have received deficient rainfall because the eastern wing of the monsoon remained mostly weak after hitting the landmass from the Bay of Bengal," said Sen.
Weathermen are sceptical about the possibility of the recovery in the monsoon rainfall even in July. The Patna meteorological centre had earlier predicted the monsoon rainfall in the state would be around 90 per cent in July, followed by 80 per cent in August and 80 per cent in September.
"The formation of two depressions in the Arabian Sea is not a good indication for the monsoon rainfall in this part of the country. If such a trend continues, it would keep weakening the monsoon current in the region," said Sen.
The truant monsoon has raised concerns among the farmers with regard to kharif crops. "The soil is so dry that the first two or three spells of monsoon showers would not make much difference. As the transplantation of paddy seedlings starts from the first week of July, monsoon rainfall has become the need of the hour," said Sudhanshu Kumar, a farmer from Samastipur.
