Rain brings relief to city, 2 flights diverted

Ranchi: Rain lashed the city and other parts of the state on Monday afternoon, giving relief to people from heat and humidity. Different parts of Jharkhand experienced light to moderate rainfall accompanied with thunderstorms due to western disturbance in the past 24 hours, the Ranchi office of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

A trough extending from west Madhya Pradesh to Bangladesh via state is contributing to widespread weather changes.

In Ranchi, the downpour led to waterlogging and overflowing drains. Till 5.30pm, Ranchi recorded 1mm rainfall.

A resident of Pundag, Archna Bhardwaj, said, "The sudden heavy shower caught us offguard."

Ranchi recorded 33.8°C maximum temperature, 2.2°C below normal, and 19.5°C minimum temperature. Jamshedpur recorded 35.8°C maximum temperature and 23°C minimum temperature. Daltonganj recorded a maximum of 33.2°C, and minimum temperature of 22.8°C. Chaibasa recorded maximum temperature at 37.4°C, while the minimum was 24.8°C. Seraikela recorded the highest maximum temperature of 38.5°C.

Poor visibility led to the diversion of two Ranchi-bound flights — an Air India Express from Bangalore was rerouted to Kolkata, while an IndiGo flight from Mumbai had to be diverted to Bhubaneswar.

No significant changes in maximum temperatures are expected over the next three days, though a rise of 2-3°C may occur thereafter. Light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms is expected across many areas on April 15. Light to moderate rainfall and thundershowers are expected, particularly in the eastern and central parts. Hailstorms and thunderstorm activity are expected in southeastern and northeastern regions from April 16 to April 19. For April 20, the forecast indicates cloudy conditions with chances of rain and thunderstorms, IMD said.