PATNA: Monsoon winds are finally knocking at Bihar’s door and its eastern districts — Kishanganj, Araria, Purnia and Katihar — are likely to receive normal to heavy rainfall in the next 48 to 72 hours.
Normally, monsoon reaches Bihar between June 12 and 15. According to the weatherman, the rain-carrying wind would reach the state this year two days behind normal.
“There are favourable conditions for advancement of south-west monsoon winds in Bihar on the basis of which our regional headquarters at Kolkata has made this forecast,” Met director Animesh Chanda told TOI on Monday.
The eastern districts are likely to witness rainfall for two to three days once the monsoon winds reach there. If the pulse is strong enough, rain may lash these districts for four to five days, he said.
A strong pulse would also take the winds to other parts of the state. Alternatively, the rest of Bihar would have to wait for a week or two for the monsoon shower, the Met director said and added the exact nature of advancement of monsoon in other parts of the state can be assessed only after analysing the pulse of the monsoon reaching eastern
Bihar.
Bihar, in a normal monsoon year, receives 1,013 mm of rainfall, and the weatherman has predicted a normal monsoon this year. However, farmers, most of whom depend on monsoon rain for a healthy crop, are keeping their fingers crossed. For, the forecast of normal monsoon last year proved wrong and the state received 27% less rainfall leading to a drought-like situation in 2009.