After warm New Year’s Day, chill to follow

RANCHI: People enjoyed warm New Year after a long gap. Unlike previous years the day temperature this time has continuously remained above normal, almost throughout the country though the minimum temperature was either below normal or in tandem with the mean minimum of the places. Weather scientist and director meteorology of the Ranchi India Meteorological Department B K Mondal said, "The mercury is likely to dip in the next few days. The early morning and night temperature is falling almost throughout the state but the days are comparatively warmer."
On Monday, Ranchi, Daltongunj and Chaibasa recorded mean minimum temperature for their respective stations at 8.6 degrees, 7.9 degrees and 10 degrees respectively. Bokaro and Jamshedpur recorded 7.6 degrees and 10.4 degrees which was respectively 4 degrees and one degree below normal. The day temperature, known as maximum temperature however remained at higher level for all the weather stations. Chaibasa with 25.8, Daltongunj with 24.6, Jamshedpur with 27.8 and Ranchi with 25 degrees had 1-3 degrees above normal.

"Cold wind activities are going on in extreme north India but in absence of western disturbance there is little effect but as the western disturbance is picking up there are chances that the chilling wind would start blowing in the next few days," Mondal said.

Even if the temperature dips temporarily there are good chances that it would start improving after January 14. Occasional fog in north eastern Jharkhand is expected to occur occasionally in the next one week. It was in 2008 that Ranchi had experienced an all-time low temperature of 3.2 degrees on New Year Day. Similarly the mercury remained at the lower side in 2012, 2014 and 2017 on first day of the year, though they were not the coldest days of the month. The coldest day in 2014 was January 4 when the mercury dipped to touch 5.4 degree Celsius. The trend had started setting in since the New Year Day. In 2012 with intermitting rain showers the mercury had reached its lowest point of 4.7 degrees by January 14 whereas in 2017 January 15 recorded the lowest temperature of 5.1degree Celsius.