As temperature hovered around 40-42° C across the state for the last one week, the pre-monsoon rain on Sunday afternoon came as a great respite. Besides Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Hazaribag also got relief from heat waves that had made life unbearable for the last three weeks.
Though Ranchi reported 24.2 mm rainfall in an hour, it was enough to make Sunday evening comfortable. Interestingly, the rain comes two days after tribal villagers organized Manda puja to invoke god of rain and relief. The state will have monsoon by June 10.
"Temperature will be down for the next 48 hours and the weather will remain pleasant," said G K Mohanty, director at Ranchi weather office. The Meteorological Department Observatory recorded 5° C fall in temperature on Sunday afternoon to 37° C, which is likely to persist for the next two days. Children were seen dancing on streets as the change in weather conditions came as a pleasant surprise. Rooftop had kids bathing in the rain. Temperature hitting the 42 degree Celsius mark is a rare phenomenon in Ranchi well-known as the only hill station of Bihar-Jharkhand.
"It is after 20 sleepless nights that I will get a good night's sleep," said Varshaa Pallavi, a working professional. Frequent power cuts in the city and other districts had made the summer worse. In the last fortnight, residents have staged protests against intermittent power supply at night.
Kids, inside their homes on a leisurely Sunday afternoon, jumped atop their rooftops and let the rain fall down their face and body. A couple of them also stuck their tongue out to catch the free-falling drops. Those caught unaware in the roads without the savior umbrella, faced the rain and drenched themselves. "It works as a vaccine against the sun stroke," said Ritika Singh, a student.
Cyclonic circulation in the lower sky developing for the last couple of days caused the rainfall accompanied by strong winds at a speed of 60kmph, according to Met office report. The cyclonic circulation started from the northwestern part of the state and moved to the opposite direction. It caused precipitation in areas over which the circulation moved.
Trees were uprooted in many localities in the city and several electric poles were also damaged disrupting electricity supply in many areas. However, Sunday's cool comfort made citizens less annoyed about it.
Ranchi met office director said it was a pre-monsoon activity. "The conditions for monsoon are developing in the way of Bengal. It would advance northward and monsoon would come timely in Jharkhand. It is most likely by June 10 to 20," said Mohanty.
The state stands in welcome for the rain God for whom pujas have already started in different parts of the state.
"Now the torturous wait is over. I just hope that the heat waves do not sweep through the state once again," said Gautam Anand, a professional.
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