Jamshedpur, Aug. 28: After downpour days, Jharkhand is suffering muggy moments, courtesy high humidity.

The sultry weather has upped the discomfort index and the bad news is that weathermen have warned of another 48 hours of torment before the state can hope for some rain relief.

"The weather will continue to be unpleasantly warm and humid for the next two days. There is possibility of showers owing to a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal only after the next 48 hours," said Upendra Sharma, an official at the IMD's Ranchi centre.

According to Sharma, the rain last week triggered by a low-pressure trough had left a lot of moisture in the air, resulting in the rise in humidity levels across the state.

The average discomfort index, measured on the basis of temperature, humidity and wind pattern, was as high as 63 degrees, eight degrees above normal, in the state today.

The index in Jamshedpur touched a tormenting 66 degrees, 11 notches above normal, while in capital Ranchi, it was 61 degrees, six degrees above normal.

In places such as Daltonganj, Bokaro and Dhanbad, the discomfort index oscillated between 65 and 66 degrees, much higher than normal. In several other districts like Deoghar, Dumka, Pakur, Godda, Latehar, Chatra, Hazaribagh and Simdega, it crossed 60 degrees.

Weather officials in Patna blamed the day's high discomfort index on excessive moisture content in the air, with the maximum humidity touching over 70 per cent and the minimum hovering around 65 per cent in most districts for the last two days. "Respite will come only with rain," said a duty officer at the Patna Meteorological Centre.

Director of Ranchi Meteorological Centre B.K. Mandal said that the southwest monsoon was weak over Jharkhand for the past couple of days, resulting in the dry spell.

"We are expecting partly cloudy sky in most of the districts during the next 24 hours," said Mandal, adding that a few isolated places were likely to experience light showers.

The Met office director said that no warning had been issued for Jharkhand till August 30, as they had found no significant changes in the weather condition.

Statistics revealed that so far Jharkhand had received a cumulative rainfall of 787.8mm against a normal of 824.7mm, a negligible deficit of four per cent.

Owing to a good shower show, the deficit had come down to two per cent last week. But, absence of rain in the past 72 hours had once again widened the loss margin.