Dupattas act as sun shield in Bokaro on a hot Monday. Picture by Pankaj Singh

Jamshedpur, March 21: A parched Jharkhand was singed this morning as maximum temperatures in several places, including steel city Bokaro, touched a cruel 40°C, resulting in heat wave-like conditions.

Weathermen said that temperatures across the state had been witnessing a rise over the past 48 hours due to the dominating dry westerly winds.

Maximum readings in Bokaro, Jamshedpur and Daltonganj hovered between 39°C and 40°C. The local meteorological office in Jamshedpur recorded a day temperature of 39.9°C, five notches above normal. Yesterday, the city had recorded 40.5°C and on Saturday it sweated at 40.3°C.

Last year, maximum temperatures had hovered between 40°C and 42°C in Jamshedpur and its adjoining areas.

Daltonganj, considered the heat chamber of the state, today recorded 39.4°C, four degrees above normal. Yesterday, it had hit a 39.5°C high.

The Met office in Ranchi today recorded a day temperature of 35.8°C against yesterday’s 36.6°C. The reading is four degrees above normal.

“The rise in day temperatures is gradually resulting in formation of a low pressure area, which might lead to thundershowers in the next few days,” said a weather analyst at Patna Met office.

According to him, if the wind pattern stays like it is, the mercury would cross the 42°C in the next 72 hours.