Ranchi: Jharkhand is in the grip of a severe cold wave with the minimum temperature plummeting to up to four degrees below normal.
Kanke, which is considered rural Ranchi recorded a low of 2.2°C on Saturday morning and ground frost covered the region. The minimum in Ranchi city was 7°C, which is 2.6 degrees below normal.
However, according to the automated weather system (AWS) of IMD (Ranchi), Daltonganj is the coldest among all 24 districts at 6.3°C and the maximum deviation from the normal was noticed in Bokaro where the minimum temperature was 8.2°C which 4.1 degrees below the normal.
Talking to TOI, agro-meteorologist at the Birsa Agriculture University, Dr A Wadood, said for better understanding of local weather, the university has installed an AWS at Kanke and reflects the daily weather condition of rural Ranchi but not taken into account in the IMD forecast.
“Earlier, the difference in urban and rural Ranchi ranges between one to two degrees but during the last two years, it has become more distinct and the gap is as big as four to five degrees,” Wadood said.
He further said 2020 is the El-Nina year which is known to be colder than normal years. “El Nina triggers more of western disturbances which result in a lot of activities at the upper layers of the atmosphere bringing cold winds from the north,” the scientist said.
Meanwhile, the IMD in its daily bulletin said there was no significant synoptic system over Jharkhand but a steady flow of northwesterly winds at the lower layers, which is bringing the chill from north India. Though the weather is likely to remain dry with bright sunshine in the days to come, the morning temperature is likely to further recede due to the snowfall in north India.
Weathermen at the IMD Ranchi office also said once the cloud cover disappeared, the night temperature dropped suddenly as expected. Despite the drop, the shiver is not much pronounced in the absence of wind. Wadood said at present, the wind is blowing at a speed of 1.5 kmph, which is negligible. “In the days to come when the wind starts blowing at 4-5 kmph, the feel would be even lower than the actual minimum,” he said.
Talking about the ill-effects of low temperature on tender Rabi crops like wheat and mustard, Wadood said consistent minimum temperature around 4°C often results in frosting which damages the plant cells. “If the 4°C prevails for around a week, which is very likely this year, there would be substantial damage to the crops, so, we advise the farmers to go for one round of evening irrigation or burn stubble at night to create a smoke envelope,” Wadood said, explaining that water or smoke creates an envelope near the crop canopy preventing a fall in the temperature.