Monsoon likely to arrive in Jharkhand by middle of this month, says IMD

RANCHI: Southwest monsoon rains are expected to set in over Jharkhand between June 15 and June 18 this year, the Ranchi office of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday.
The announcement came after the IMD’s New Delhi quarters formally notified the onset of monsoon over Kerala in the afternoon. The monsoon currents are expected to move inland towards Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karnataka and parts of south and central Bay of Bengal in the next 48 hours, the IMD said.
While the lockdown hampered Jharkhand’s mining and industrial sector in 2020, the timely onset of monsoon rains in the state had come as a relief to the farmers last year. The previous monsoon in Jharkhand was recorded as normal after the state received a cumulative rainfall of 901.9 mm rain, which was 14% less than the state’s normal average of 1,054.77 mm. Many districts had faced drought-like scenario in 2018 and 2019 after the monsoon rains were deficient by 28% and 21% in the two consecutive seasons.
Even though severe cyclonic storm Yaas brought destruction in the state, it also brought in heavy rains which will help in timely sowing of kharif crops by June 15. Due to heavy downpour, Ranchi recorded 239.33 mm rain last month, which is the highest rain in May since 1959 (151 mm).
Abhishek Anand, a scientist at IMD Ranchi, said: “Currently, there is a cyclonic circulation which is persisting over north Chhattisgarh. Under its influence, isolated places in Jharkhand will receive light to moderate rains with thundering in the next four to five days. Pre-monsoon showers are also expected in the coming days.”
Meanwhile, Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth on Thursday wrote a letter to chief minister Hemant Soren and urged him to set up a state-level committee to assess and report the damages which have been caused by the rains due to cyclone Yaas at the block and panchayat levels in the state. Notably, the state disaster management department has asked all the districts to submit a report of the damages caused by the cyclone.