Jharkhand experienced widespread rainfall on Monday morning, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a heavy rain alert for 16 districts until Tuesday morning. The yellow alert covers East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, Simdega, Seraikela-Kharswan, Deoghar, Dumka, Giridih, Godda, Jamtara, Pakur, Sahibganj, Ranchi, Bokaro, Dhanbad, Khunti, and Ramgarh districts.
Further alerts indicate continued heavy rainfall for 11 districts from Tuesday morning to Wednesday morning, and for 13 districts from Wednesday morning to Thursday morning. Abhishek Anand, deputy director at Ranchi Meteorological Centre, explained that ‘major parts of the state are likely to experience widespread rainfall for three days under the influence of a cyclonic circulation and trough line.’
Ranchi city has already been receiving light to moderate rainfall since Sunday afternoon, recording 30.2mm by 5:30 PM on Sunday. Overall, Jharkhand has seen an 18% surplus rainfall between June 1 and September 14, receiving 1,079.4 mm against a normal of 913.4 mm. Seraikela-Kharswan district registered the highest surplus at 52%, followed closely by Ranchi at 45%. In contrast, Pakur district has experienced a 26% deficit in rainfall during the same period.