Ranchi: Jharkhand’s southwest monsoon is expected to end in the normal category this year, but the season was marked by sharp fluctuations, intense rain spells and significant district-level disparities.After recording a steep 58% rainfall deficit in June and a 7% shortfall in July, the state recovered with rainfall 26% above normal in Aug and 15% above normal in Sept. So far, Jharkhand has received 1,005.7 mm of rainfall against the long-period average of 1,022.9 mm, leaving an overall deficit of just 2%.“The overall performance of the southwest monsoon over Jharkhand was normal,” said IMD Ranchi head Baburaj PP. He noted that the final statewide figure masked considerable monthly and spatial variation.Jharkhand recorded 45 heavy rainfall days, 16 very heavy rainfall days and three extremely heavy rainfall days. Aug was the most active month, accounting for 14 heavy, eight very heavy and one extremely heavy rainfall day, while Sept logged eight heavy, two very heavy and two extremely heavy rainfall days.Baburaj attributed much of the season’s rainfall to low-pressure systems originating over the north Bay of Bengal and moving northwestwards. Jharkhand was influenced by four such systems in July, six in Aug and four in Sept.Rainfall distribution remained uneven across districts. Only West Singhbhum and Saraikela-Kharsawan recorded excess rainfall. Fifteen districts fell in the normal category, while seven remained deficient, as per the bulletin.India as a whole recorded seasonal rainfall 12.6% below normal, but Jharkhand stayed within the normal range. The state has now registered normal southwest monsoons for three consecutive years, from 2024 to 2026, after deficient seasons in 2022 and 2023.The monsoon began withdrawing from northwest Rajasthan on Sept 19 and is now expected to retreat from parts of Jharkhand as well, officials said.
