Two friends brave the Monday heat in Jamshedpur. Picture by Animesh Sengupta

Wear your coolest spirit to beat the hot sun.

Aided by wily westerly winds, the swelter meter has leaped to an almost oppressive 40°C in many parts of the state and relief ain’t in sight for another 72 hours.

Heat pockets on Monday included Jamshedpur, Khunti, Seraikela, Chaibasa and Simdega, where daytime readings were singeing to say the least.

The state capital flaunted its altitude advantage and stayed comparatively cooler. In fact, the Celsius even witnessed almost a degree’s drop to 34.8°C. The reading was, however, two notches above the average normal.

Districts like Dhanbad and Bokaro fretted under the cruel sun’s near-36 and above-36 scores.

The local Met observatory in Jamshedpur registered 39.5°C for the second consecutive day, the reading being three notches above the average normal. The spiteful sun also took a 39.4°C toll on Seraikela and Chaibasa in West Singhbhum and Simdega. Kunti sweated at 39.2°C.

Maximum temperatures witnessed a rise in heat chamber Daltonganj too, while districts like Koderma, Hazaribagh, Gumla, Latehar and Deoghar had no relief either. Daltonganj recorded 37.8°C against 36°C on Sunday. Monday’s maximum was three degrees above the average normal.

According to weathermen, the day reading in Jamshedpur would have touched the cruel 40°C mark had it not been for patches of cloud in the afternoon that prevented the mercury from rising further.

“The weather will remain mainly dry over Jharkhand in the next 48 hours. The rise in maximum temperatures is attributed to dry westerly winds dominating over the state. The prevailing wind pattern is obstructing moisture incursion into the atmosphere,” explained A.K. Sen, the director of Patna Meteorological Office.

He, however, did not rule out the possibility of rain relief after March 28. “Weather chart analysis suggests that several parts of the state are likely to witness thunderstorm activities accompanied by rainfall after the next 72 hours,” he added.

Last year, maximum readings in many places, including Daltonganj, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and Deoghar, had hovered between 38°C and 40°C during this time of the year.