The bone-numbing chill is back with winter's last lap in Jharkhand.
Weathermen on Sunday warned of cold wave conditions in the next 48 hours while predicting a fresh plunge in minimum temperatures across the state, courtesy the dominating, dry and crisp westerly winds from the north.
Jharkhand's freezer Kanke, on the outskirts of state capital Ranchi, recorded an extreme minimum of 1°C, seven notches below normal. In 2010 and 2013, it had reached freezing point. Districts like Bokaro and Ramgarh reeled under a cold wave on Sunday, and the IMD offices in Patna and Ranchi said they would have the company of more places over the next two days.
"Jharkhand is in the grip of westerly winds, which is causing minimum temperatures to plummet. The downward trend is expected to continue for another 48 hours, with no adverse climatic conditions in the chart analysis today (Sunday)," said A.K. Sen, the director of Patna Meteorological Centre.
Upendra Srivastava, a senior Met official in Ranchi, said the Celsius slide would be more pronounced in hilly areas. "Minimum readings are expected to drop by another degree or so as the weather will remain primarily dry over Jharkhand," he added.
A. Wadood, a weather scientist at Birsa Agriculture University (BAU), said the chill had intensified because of the "strong and uninterrupted flow" of the dry westerly wind.
"The cold wave prevailing in large parts of northern India is also adding to the crispness of weather here."
If Ranchi shivered at 6°C, four notches below normal, Jamshedpur went into a huddle as the Celsius plunged to 7.6°C, also four degrees below normal. Daltonganj recorded its season's lowest of 5.5°C, the reading being three notches below normal. Bokaro and Ramgarh too registered their coldest days, with the mercury plummeting to around 5°C, seven degrees below normal.
Night temperatures in Hazaribagh, Koderma, Deoghar, Latehar, Simdega, Garhwa, Chatra, Giridih, Dumka, Pakur and Godda witnessed a downward trend in the past 24 hours. Met officials confirmed that all these districts recorded sub-10 chill on Sunday.
Statistics revealed that last January, minimum readings in Ranchi and several other parts of the state had hovered between 8°C and 12°C.
With the laze quotient up, citizens preferred to stay indoors. Jubilee Park in Jamshedpur, a favourite haunt of morning walkers, wore a deserted look.
"It was too cold to venture out," Anju Srivastava, a yoga enthusiast and resident of CH Area in the steel city, said.
Mukul Verma, a computer professional and resident of Bistupur, agreed. "The weather is bright and crisp. You can feel your fingers going numb even during the day. Perfect weather for a late picnic," he grinned.
