The Capital city recorded the coldest day of the season on Friday with the minimum temperature being recorded at 6.4 degree Celsius. Keeping the dipping mercury levels in mind, the Ranchi district administration has issued a circular to all the schools in the State capital to change their timings from 9 am to 3 pm.
“Because of the falling temperatures, all schools have been issued an advisory to alter their timings from 9 am to 3 pm from December 21 onwards. The schools have also been directed to follow this time- table till the weather conditions further improve,” said Deputy Development Commissioner Ananya Mittal.
The falling temperatures being experienced in Jharkhand are because of the north westerly winds flowing in.
“States like Himachal Pradesh and Jummu and Kashmir have witnessed snowfall recently because of which Jharkhand is facing severe cold. This is likely to continue till December 21. From December 22 to December 25, a western disturbance is expected to have an impact over the State. Light to moderate rainfall is predicted over some northern and central districts of Jharkhand on Christmas,” said MET Observatory Centre- Ranchi, Scientist Abhishek Anand.
The weathermen further added that due to the western disturbances, a slight respite from the cold might be experienced across the State. However, once the clouds clear after December 25, the mercury levels are expected to dip further.
“Before the onset of the western disturbances, a slight increase in the temperatures along with a cloudy sky might be experienced. Once it has rained and the clouds have cleared, the mornings will be very foggy and the temperatures will also fall further,” added the scientist.
North western parts of Jharkhand like Palamu, Garhwa, Chatra, Hazaribagh have a situation of a cold day. A cold day is declared when the minimum temperature is below 10 degree Celsius and the maximum temperature is below 4.5 degree Celsius. “Presently, a cold wave is not being witnessed anywhere in the State. Cold day conditions were observed at isolated places in Jharkhand during the last few days,” said the official.
According to the weather bulletin issued by the Meteorological Centre, Ranchi on December 20, the minimum temperature in the capital city was 3.2 degree Celsius below normal at 6.4 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature was also 2.9 degree below normal at 21 degree Celsius.
As per the communiqué, from December 21 to December 24, the minimum temperature in Ranchi and its surrounding areas will be around 7 to 12 degree Celsius while the maximum temperature will be at 22 degree Celsius.