Ranchi: The southwest monsoon, which reached the state on June 12, took 18 days to cover Jharkhand, officials of Ranchi Met office said on Wednesday, adding that the coverage was slower compared with earlier years.Ranchi Met office director, Baburaj P P, said that monsoon reached the remaining districts — Palamu and Garhwa — in northwestern part of the state on Tuesday.“It was pretty late because monsoon reached the state on time and yet it took 18 days to cover Jharkhand’s 24 districts,” he said.He said that usually monsoon covers the entire state within a week or even before that. “But it was delayed because of weak winds, westerlies from the Arabian Sea and easterlies from the Bay of Bengal,” he explained.The state has a 54% rainfall deficit in June. The weather office, however, hoped for more rainfall in July and Aug.“We are expecting near-normal rainfall in July,” Baburaj said, adding that for the next few days, many parts of the state are expected to receive widespread rain since a low pressure area is developing in the Bay of Bengal.“There has been a formation of a cyclonic circulation over the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining areas, and under its influence some rainfall will occur at various places across the state from July 3. This week, we are expecting good rainfall,” he said.
