PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, Jan 10: A distance of nearly eight Kilometre creates a difference of eight to nine degrees in temperature between Ranchi and Kanke. For the last two days (yesterday and today) Kanke recorded a minimum temperature of zero degree Celsius (freezing point) as per the surface reading of an observatory on the campus of Birsa Agriculture University.
On the other hand, Ranchi recorded a minimum temperature of around nine degrees on Monday and Tuesday. According to officials of Birsa Agriculture University, the reason behind this drastic difference is that Kanke has more open areas than the concrete jungle of Ranchi.
There is more agricultural land in Kanke than in Ranchi because of which water logging cools the air and promotes winds to blow uninterrupted. Pollution levels also differ majorly in both places.
There are two rivers in Kanke too that possess large grassland areas.
Moreover, another reason officials point out is that the Tropic of Cancer passes through Kanke, making it the only place in India touched by the Tropic of Cancer.
“The topography of Ranchi is such that its temperature records are much low as compared to nearby Ranchi. This was not the first time. Earlier, too Kanke had clocked zero degree Celsius,” said Abdul Wadood, an agriculture scientist at Birsa Agriculture University.
However, IMD officials are not so convinced over Kanke’s temperature going to freezing point.
“Such a huge difference in minimum temperature seems absurd. There seems to be something wrong. We do not deny the formation of frost which happens even when the minimum reaches 3-4 degree Celsius,” said a senior official of IMD’s Ranchi Met Centre.
He went on to say that they cannot corroborate the claim of BAU regarding Kanke’s temperature reaching freezing point for the last two days as the IMD’s automatic weather station at Kanke was lying non-functional for the last couple of months.
The weather monitor of the Birsa Agriculture University’s agro-meteorology department recorded zero degree Celsius in the Kanke region on Monday and Tuesday. The night temperature in Kanke has been one or two degrees on Saturday and Sunday.
When asked about the accuracy of the weathering apparatus, a BAU official said their apparatus is accurate in terms of calibration and the temperature recording technique.
Frost clusters were observed in the fields in Kanke, particularly over the haystacks that are known to hold moisture which gets frozen as soon as the ground temperature touches subzero levels.
Today, Kanke recorded a maximum temperature of 19.5 degree Celsius with a wind speed of 3.3 Kmph.
Head of Ranchi Met Centre Abhishek Anand, said the temperature difference between the two places within eight Kilometre is usually never beyond six degrees. “A difference of 9 to 10 degrees seems unrealistic as Ranchi is recording 9-10 degrees. We can expect the minimum temperature to be around 3-4 degrees and this is the point when ground frost is observed,” he explained.
IMD officials said no significant synoptic condition prevailed over Jharkhand. Only north-westerly to north-easterly winds prevail at lower levels over the state. The weather remained mostly dry and cold wave conditions prevailed in some pockets.
“There would be no significant change in the temperatures during the next 24 hours, following which the night temperature may rise by two to three degrees, bringing some respite from the chilling cold,” a duty officer at Ranchi Met Centre said.
