Ranchi: The state has received near-normal monsoon rainfall so far, but the district-wise spread remains sharply uneven. While parts of southern and western Jharkhand have recorded surplus rain, several northeastern districts continue to face major shortfalls.Between June 1 and Sept 1, the state received 785.7 mm of rain against the normal of 807.1 mm — a deficit of 3%, which is classified as normal.Several districts are bracing for intense rain this week. Ranchi Met office has issued a red alert for Garhwa, Palamu, Simdega and West Singhbhum for Tuesday and Wednesday. Isolated places in these districts could receive heavy to extremely heavy rain, ranging from 64.5 mm to more than 204.4 mm.An orange alert has been issued for Latehar, Lohardaga, Gumla, Khunti, Seraikela-Kharsawan and East Singhbhum, where heavy to very heavy rain is likely at isolated places. “Chatra, Hazaribag, Ramgarh, Bokaro and Ranchi are under a yellow alert, with isolated heavy rain of 64.5 mm to 115.5 mm expected,” said Baburaj PP, head of Ranchi Met office, on Tuesday.A yellow alert will also remain in force for Garhwa, Chatra, Palamu and Latehar from Wednesday to Thursday. “A strong low-pressure system is likely to bring light to moderate rain to most parts of the state, with heavy showers at a few places,” he said.IMD on Monday said that rainfall across the country was likely to remain below normal in Sept, the final month of monsoon. Jharkhand’s district-wise figures, however, show wide variations.West Singhbhum recorded the highest surplus, receiving 1,254.7 mm of rain against the normal of 814.5 mm — 54% above normal. Latehar received 1,008.3 mm against 821.6 mm, a surplus of 23%. East Singhbhum recorded 14% excess rain, followed by Ranchi at 10%, Simdega at 9%, Lohardaga at 6% and Khunti at 2%.At the other end, Pakur recorded the steepest shortfall of 51%, receiving only 442.9 mm against the normal of 910.1 mm. Chatra reported a deficit of 38%, followed by Deoghar at 37%, Koderma at 34%, Godda at 30%, Giridih at 28%, Hazaribag at 25%, Sahibganj at 24% and Gumla at 21%. Despite receiving less rain than usual, Dhanbad, Palamu, Ramgarh and Bokaro remained in the normal category, with deficits of 3%, 10%, 9% and 12%, respectively.
