After days of hide-and-seek, the southwest monsoon finally set in over some parts of Odisha on Friday.
Issuing a bulletin, the India Meteorological Department, Odisha said the monsoon covered the districts of Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri and also some portions of the adjoining districts of Keonjhar, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Khorda, Nayagarh, Ganjam and Gajapati.
Conditions were favourable for further advance of the southwest monsoon into remaining parts Odisha during next two to three days, it said.
According to the IMD, Odisha, the northern limit of monsoon passes through Karwar, Gadag, Kurnool, Kalingapatnam, Cuttack, Jamshedpur and Forbesganj.
Arrival of monsoon marked sharp drop in daytime with intermittent rain recorded in different towns. Except Bolangir which recorded maximum temperature 40 degrees Celsius, temperature remained below 40 degrees C at all stations.
The western Odisha town of Bhawanipatna received 50 mm rain in past 24 hours while northern town of Baripada followed with 45.2 mm of rainfall. Jharsuguda and Keonjhar also received good amount of rainfall. The Met Centre predicted heavy rainfall at one or two places over north Odisha and south coastal Odisha during next 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the State government has announced to conduct mock drill on management of flood and cyclone disaster in 500 multi-purpose flood and cyclone shelters in 15 districts on June 19. Communication and rescue equipment provided to the shelters will be checked during drill, which is part of the State’s flood preparedness activities.
Rain in Bengal
Parts of Gangetic West Bengal on Friday received heavy rain as the Met department said monsoon has become active these areas.
Bankura received the highest rainfall 45.2 mm, followed by Asansol, where the precipitation level was 43 mm, the Met department said.
Sriniketan recorded the day’s highest temperature in the State at 34.2 degrees C, while Kolkata was cooler at 32.8 degrees.
In Bankura, the highest temperature was 32.1 deg C, five degrees below average.
The Met department said monsoon has become active in the districts of Bankura and Burdwan in Gangetic West Bengal after entering Sub-Himalayan West Bengal in the north.
The weatherman said the monsoon is likely to cover the rest of Gangetic West Bengal, including Kolkata, within a couple of days.
Heavy rain lashed parts of sub-Himalayan West Bengal on Thursday also as the Met department forecast rain or thundershowers in different parts of the State, signalling an end to the tortuous summer that lasted for more than three months.
The Cooch Behar district received 87.8 mm rainfall since Wednesday, while the Darjeeling Hills received 19 mm, the Met department said. - PTI