Dupattas and helmet come in handy on a Sakchi thoroughfare as steel city Jamshedpur grapples with a sweltering Sunday. Picture by Bhola Prasad

Jamshedpur, April 17: Aided by wily westerly winds, the vengeful summer sun returned to torment the state within a week of a shower sop and pushed the swelter meter up the oppressive 40°C mark today.

The heat pockets included Jamshedpur and Daltonganj, where local meteorological observatories recorded maximum readings of 40.1°C and 41.9°C, respectively — the highest so far this April. Day temperatures also witnessed abrupt rise in the state capital and districts like Deoghar, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Latehar, Gumla, Palamau and Koderma.

Weather statistics show that the temperature in Jamshedpur shot up by some three degrees within 24 hours. The steel city was cooler at 37.3°C yesterday. In Daltonganj, too, the mercury leaped from 39°C. The reading there today was three notches above the average normal.

Capital Ranchi witnessed a rise of about two degrees. Against 35.6°C yesterday, the local weather office recorded 37.4°C this afternoon. In coal town Dhanbad, the maximum temperature climbed from 38.2°C to 38.4°C in a day.

According to weathermen, the maximum temperature in Jamshedpur had touched the cruel 40°C mark on April 12. Today, the city broke its last record. Ranchi, which had seen its month’s highest of 36°C on April 3, too surpassed its recent heat history. For the first time this year, the maximum temperature crossed the 41°C mark in Daltonganj. On April 3, the town had registered 40.4°C.

“The abrupt rise in maximum temperatures is attributed to dry westerly winds dominating over Jharkhand for the past 24 hours. The prevailing wind pattern is obstructing moisture incursion into the atmosphere,” explained Animesh Chanda, the director of Patna Meteorological Office.

He, however, did not rule out the possibility of rain relief in the next 48 hours. “A weather chart analysis suggests formation of a cyclonic circulation over Bihar. This, coupled with a trough of low pressure stretched between eastern Madhya Pradesh and Gangetic Bengal, is likely to result in rainfall over several parts of the state,” he added.

A senior weather analyst at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore said western disturbances, which had hit Jammu and Kashmir a couple of days ago, had created the adverse weather condition, resulting in rise in maximum temperatures in Jharkhand and its neighbouring states.

Notably, formation of frequent cyclonic circulations and Nor’wester showers had prevented day temperatures from rising far beyond the 40°C mark across the state this April.

Last year, maximum readings at several places, including Daltonganj, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and Deoghar, had hovered between 42°C and 44°C during this time of the year.