PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, Sept 2: August did bring a few downpours but the rainfall was not enough to make up the monsoon deficit that stood at 38 per cent at the end of the month.
Weathermen at IMD’s Ranchi Met Centre said this was for the first time in recent few years that the deficit had touched such a high at the end of August, the third monsoon month.
“Unless there is heavy rainfall in September, the state will not be able to make up for the deficit,” said a senior Met official in Ranchi.
According to data from the Ranchi centre of the India Meteorological Department, Jharkhand received 504.1mm rainfall against a normal of 807.1mm by August-end.
Thus the cumulative rainfall of the state during the first three monsoon months — June to August — was 38 per cent below the normal of the long period average.
Except for one district- Sahibganj, rest of the 23 districts figured in the rain losers list.
At the end of August, Sahibganj district recorded surplus rainfall of three per cent.
Chatra district was facing 64 per cent rain deficit.
Deficit rain between 60 and 89 per cent is considered as scanty rainfall in Met parlance.
Several districts, including Ranchi, Dhanbad, Bokaro, Hazaribagh, Deoghar, Giridih received deficient rain (below normal from 20 to 59 per cent).
The southwest monsoon activity was weak over Jharkhand over the last few days as the monsoon trough has shifted towards the foothill of Himalayas.
Dry weather prevailed in most of the districts over the last 24 hours.
The forecast indicates light thundershowers and lightning activity over isolated parts of Jharkhand during the next two days.
Notably, a weak monsoon this year has resulted in uneven rainfall in Jharkhand since its arrival in third week of June.
