Monsoon enters Jharkhand, covers two districts

Ranchi, Jun 21 (PTI) The southwest monsoon advanced into Jharkhand on Friday and covered two districts out of 24 in the state, a weather official said.

The southwest monsoon made entry from the northeast part of the state and covered Sahebganj and Pakur districts, he said. The normal date for monsoon onset in Jharkhand is June 10. It, however, enters Jharkhand between June 12 and June 25 since 2010, according to the monsoon onset record of Ranchi Meteorological Centre.

In 2023, the monsoon reached Jharkhand on June 19.

Abhishek Anand, in-charge of Ranchi Meteorological Centre, told PTI, "The southwest monsoon has set in over Jharkhand on Friday and covered the districts of Sahebganj and Pakur. Conditions are favourable for further advancement of the monsoon into some more parts of the state during the next three-four days." He said overall seasonal rainfall from June 1 to September 30 is expected to be normal. "The state may experience deficient rainfall in June but it will pick up in July," he said.

The state has recorded 65 per cent rainfall deficiency from June 1 to 21. The state has received 36mm rainfall against the normal rainfall of 101.5mm. Garhwa district is facing the highest rainfall deficit of 91 per cent.

Parts of Jharkhand including Ranchi have been experiencing intermittent rainfall since Thursday evening and it continued on Friday. The highest rainfall of 74.5mm was recorded at Jaganathpur in West Singhbhum district in the past 24 hours. The rainfall brought respite from intense heat in Jharkhand. PTI SAN SAN RG