Patna, Aug 17: The monsoon revived across Bihar on Monday, with fresh spells of rain lashing Patna and several districts, providing relief from the hot and humid conditions prevailing over the past few days.
Heavy showers were reported from Chhapra, Rajgir, Bettiah, Purnia, Supaul and Katihar, while several other parts of the state also received rainfall.
Patna recorded 9.7 mm of rain till 5:30 pm, with the city registering a minimum temperature of 28.4 degrees Celsius and a maximum of 33.4 degrees Celsius.
The Meteorological Centre, Patna, has forecast continued rainfall activity across Bihar over the next several days. A weather system over the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining coastal areas is expected to move towards the Gangetic plains through West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar, while the monsoon trough is also supporting widespread rainfall.
Rain is likely at many places in southwestern and southeastern Bihar on Tuesday, with several other areas also expected to receive showers. Patna and adjoining districts may witness rainfall at many places on August 18, followed by rain at a few places through August 23.
The weather department has also warned of thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds in different parts of the state during the week. Winds of 30-40 kmph are likely in several districts and may reach up to 50 kmph in vulnerable areas till August 19.
Heavy rainfall is forecast in Buxar, Jehanabad, Nawada, Rohtas, Saran, Siwan, Vaishali, East Champaran and Gopalganj over the next 48 hours. Aurangabad, Kaimur and Gaya may experience very heavy rainfall on August 18.
An orange alert has been issued for 19 districts, while the remaining 19 districts are under a yellow alert.
During the past 24 hours, Darauli recorded the highest rainfall at 90.8 mm, followed by Raghunathpur at 88.2 mm and Ziradei at 86.4 mm. Goriakothi received 63.2 mm, Gopalganj 55.2 mm, Siwan Sadar 53.4 mm and Mairwa 52.6 mm.
The state’s maximum temperature during the period ranged between 33.1 degrees Celsius and 37.3 degrees Celsius, with Kaimur recording the highest temperature. Valmiki Nagar in West Champaran recorded the lowest minimum temperature at 25.4 degrees Celsius.
“There will be no significant change in maximum temperatures across most parts of Bihar during the next 24 hours,” said Deepak Kumar, duty officer at the Patna Meteorological Centre.
“Thereafter, temperatures are likely to fall by 1-2 degrees,” he said, adding that minimum temperatures are expected to remain largely unchanged across the state over the next five days.
With the monsoon gaining strength, Bihar is expected to see more widespread showers in the coming days, bringing further relief from the recent spell of heat and humidity.
