Residents woke up to a pleasant morning, complete with clouds hovering overhead and some light rainfall on Tuesday.
But the comfortable weather did not last long. The sun emerged from behind the clouds in the afternoon, sending the temperature soaring again.
Seeing the morning clouds, many residents believed the monsoon had arrived but the local Met office maintained it would take at least 48 hours for the monsoon to reach here.
Rain was also reported from several other places in the state, like Manihari in Katihar (108mm), Lakhisarai (46.6mm), Kishanganj (46.2mm), Jamui (42.8mm) and Sheikhpura (40.2mm). "The monsoon has not advanced much after entering Bihar from the northeast on June 17. It is, however, likely to cover the entire state in the next 48 hours," Patna Met office meteorologist Sandeep Kumar told The Telegraph on Tuesday.
The districts already covered by the monsoon include Supaul, Kishanganj, Purnea, Araria, Katihar and Bhagalpur.
Giving reasons for the slow advance of rain-bearing winds in Bihar after entering the state three days back, the meteorologist said there was no system to expedite the advance. "A local system had developed over Bihar on Monday but it moved towards Bengal. We are hoping for development of favourable conditions in the next, at least, 48 hours for the monsoon to advance in the state," he said.
As far as rainfall in the first 20 days of June is concerned, against the normal of 87.2mm, from June 1 to 20, the state got 61.1 mm of rainfall, around 30 per cent less than normal.
But the situation was better in Patna. Against the normal of 61.1mm of rainfall, the city received 59.5mm from June 1 to 20, just 3 per cent less than normal.
Speaking about the likely weather condition Patna and adjoining areas were likely to witness in the coming days, Sandeep said cloudy condition was likely to prevail ahead of the arrival of monsoon in the city and few spells of rain could also take place during this period.
Though the Met office has not announced arrival of monsoon in the city, Sudha Singh, Ashiana Nagar resident and mother of two school-going sons, was very happy to see the clouds. "My sons' school reopened today after the summer break and I felt really good sending them off in such pleasant weather this morning," she said.
