PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, June 1: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted normal monsoon rainfall in Jharkhand this year.
Weathermen at IMD’s Ranchi Met Centre said that as the southwest monsoon has already hit Kerala on May 29, three days in advance, the season of rains was expected to arrive in Jharkhand well within its normal time between June 10 and 12.
Meanwhile, IMD New Delhi on Tuesday predicted a normal monsoon in the country this year in its second stage forecast for southwest monsoon.
The weather department, in quantitative terms, projected the seasonal rainfall over the country between June and September as a whole to be 103% of the long period average (LPA) this year.
IMD categorises rainfall in the range of 96% to 104% of the 50-year average of 87 cm for the four-month monsoon season, starting from June, as normal. The benchmark was upgraded in the first stage long-range monsoon forecast that was released in April.
In the first stage long-range monsoon forecast, the weatherman had predicted seasonal rainfall to be 99% of the LPA.
“Monsoon seasonal rainfall is likely to be well distributed across Jharkhand with most parts expected to receive normal to above-normal rainfall, ” said a duty officer at IMD’s Ranchi Met Centre.
Met experts in New Delhi said the ongoing La Niña conditions had slightly weakened in January and February this year, but returned from March onwards.
Currently, moderate La Niña conditions are prevailing over the Pacific.
“The latest global models forecast indicates that the La Niña conditions are likely to continue during the upcoming monsoon season,” said an IMD official.
La Niña refers to the natural and cyclical cooling of parts of the equatorial Pacific Ocean along the tropical west coast of South America.
It affects weather across the globe, along with its counterpart El Nino, and results in better than normal monsoon in the country.
