Rain pause spurs discomfort

Jamshedpur: After downpour days, the sticky feeling.

High humidity has pushed up the discomfort index by several notches in the state and the weakening southwest monsoon is unlikely to bring any rain relief in 72 hours.

"The weather will be humid for the next few days, resulting in discomfort. A good spell of rain is expected only after the next three to four days," said Upendra Srivastava, an assistant meteorologist at the IMD's Ranchi centre.

Heavy rainfall, triggered by a depression last week, left behind a lot of moisture in the air, which in turn has spiked the humidity levels.

Ranchi and Jamshedpur recorded an RH (relative humidity) of 93 per cent while Daltonganj was more stifling at 97 per cent. The RH in Bokaro and Dhanbad was close to 90 per cent while many places in southern, central and north-eastern parts of the state also recorded 90 per cent.

The average discomfort index, measured on the basis of temperature, humidity and wind pattern, was as high as 62 degrees, seven degrees above normal, on Tuesday.

The index in Jamshedpur was 64 degrees, nine above normal, and in capital Ranchi 63 degrees, eight degrees above normal. Daltonganj recorded a discomfort index of 65 degrees, 10 notches above normal. In several other districts like Dumka, Ramgarh, Hazaribagh, Pakur, Godda, Latehar, Chatra and Simdega, the index breached 60 degrees.

The axis of the monsoon trough at mean sea level passed through Firozepur, Patiala, Gorakhpur, Muzaffarpur, Forbesganj and east Nagaland on Tuesday.

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

"We are expecting generally cloudy sky in most parts of the state during the next three-four days. A few places are likely to experience light rain," Mandal said, adding that no downpour warning had been issued for Jharkhand for the next five days.