Heavy rain on the cards for southern, north-eastern districts of Jharkhand

Jamshedpur: India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast another spell of unsettled weather for Jharkhand, warning of thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds over the next four days.

On August 5, isolated pockets in Garhwa, Chatra, Koderma, Ramgarh, Bokaro, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Sahebganj, Pakur, Godda, Palamu, Latehar, Lohardaga, Gumla, Khunti, Seraikela-Kharsawan, Simdega, Dumka, Deoghar, Jamtara and Giridih are likely to witness thunderstorms accompanied by winds reaching 30–40 kmph.

August 6: Heavy rain expected over the southern and north-eastern districts; thunderstorm activity may ease temporarily. August 7: Thunderstorms and 30–40 kmph winds set to return in isolated areas; heavy showers could extend to south-eastern, north-eastern and adjoining central districts. August 8: Monsoon momentum intact, with both heavy rainfall and thunderstorms probable across multiple pockets of the state.

Meteorologists attribute the wet spell to the monsoon trough currently running through Amritsar, Dehradun, Chara and Jalpaiguri, which is fuelling convective activity across eastern India.

Jharkhand continues to enjoy a 47 per cent rainfall surplus this season. Twenty-three of the state’s 24 districts are in surplus territory, with Pakur the lone exception, registering a 13 per cent deficit.