Monsoon hits Bihar, above-normal rain expected in June: MeT

Southwest monsoon made its foray into Bihar through Darbhanga on Saturday, said Patna Meteorological Centre (PMC) officials

Southwest monsoon made its foray into Bihar through Darbhanga on Saturday, said Patna Meteorological Centre (PMC) officials.

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With the arrival of the monsoon, several places over southern parts of the state received heavy rain while light to moderate rain lashed other parts of the state.

According to the daily bulletin issued, Bhabhua recorded 120 mm rain, Adhwara 100mm, Darbhanga 60mm and Samastipur, Buxar and Khagaria 40mm each.

Vivek Sinha, director of PMC, said, “Monsoon is likely to pick up the pace and cover the entire state in upcoming 24 hours as conditions are becoming favourable for further advancement of the monsoon trough.”

“This year monsoon has arrived one day before the normal date of onset. In the last 15 years, the earliest monsoon onset over the state was in 2008, when the rainy season commenced on June 8. As per the seasonal forecast, Bihar is expected to receive above-normal rainfall in June”, added Sinha.

Meteorologist Uday Shankar Sinha said, “Widespread rain accompanied with thunderstorm and lightning is likely over the state till June 14 as southwest monsoon is all set to cover the state. The normal onset date over the capital city Patna is 16 June. Temperature is likely to fall by 2°C after two days”

As per India Meteorological Department (IMD), Bihar has received 50.6mm actual rain from June 1 to 12 which is a 22% surplus than normal rain of 41.3mm.

Meanwhile, the timely arrival of monsoon has cheered tillers and farmers who are preparing for sowing Kharif crops.

“We are heavily dependent on monsoon rain for Kharif crops, including paddy. A good amount of rain is required for timely seedling and transplantation of paddy crops”, said Rajesh Kumar, a Saran-based progressive farmer.

Last year, the monsoon arrived in the state on June 13.