Jamshedpur, Jan 29: The cold wave which was sweeping across the region for the last four-days was extended for another 48-hours. The Meteorological Office was prompted to extend the cold wave warning today as the minimum temperature at several places was recorded at 10 degrees below normal. A few places including Hazaribagh, Daltonganj and Jamshedpur were experiencing severe cold wave conditions as the mercury nose-dived seven points below normal.
” Cold wave conditions would continue to prevail over the region in the next two-days resulting in a Celsius drop, ” said an official of the Meteorological Office . He said that a western disturbance was hovering near Jammu and Kashmir but it won’t have any impact in Jharkhand as it is weak.
According to him, the weather chart analysis revealed formation of atmospheric circulations over the west Bay of Bengal , which he said would only go on to increase the wind speed in the next one or two days.
Statistics revealed that on December 31, 2007, the minimum temperature had dropped to five degree Celsius. The second lowest temperature of this season in Jamshedpur was recorded on two days–December 22 and January 8– when the mercury dipped to 6.5 degree Celsius.
The maximum temperature in most places across the state also witnessed a fall of three to four notches below normal in the last 24-hours. The humidity levels also witnessed a sharp fall indicating a clear and dry weather.
The Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore in Calcutta also signaled no reprieve from the biting cold. ” Cold wave conditions would continue to dominate over Jharkhand in the next 48-hours. Severe cold waves would prevail in hilly terrains and plateau regions for the next couple of days,” said an official of the Alipore Met Centre.
Weathermen also hinted at an extended winter in Jharkhand keeping in view the prevailing weather conditions. ” Never before has the cold wave spell continued for such a long time in the state, which is an indication of an extended weather. Moreover, the wind pattern which is north westerly in direction is also helping in sustaining the cold wave conditions,” explained a senior meteorologist at the Patna Met Office. The senior Met official said that winter usually departs Jharkhand in the third week of February . But, this year it is expected to stay till the end of the month.