Ranchi: Bad weather conditions in the city on Tuesday evening led to the diversion of four city-bound flights and triggered weather alerts across districts.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), Ranchi, said thunderstorm accompanied by gusty wind reaching speed of 50-60 km/h affected multiple regions. A red alert was issued for East Singhbhum and orange alerts for Chatra, Lohardaga, Garhwa, Latehar, Palamu, and West Singhbhum districts through the nowcast weather bulletin .
The inclement weather led to the diversion of four flights bound for Ranchi to Kolkata. "The flights belonging to IndiGo and Air India Express originated from Delhi, Bhubaneswar, and Chennai. The diversions occurred due to poor visibility and unstable weather at the Birsa Munda airport," said airport director R R Mourya.
IMD Ranchi's head, Abhishek Anand, said, "The thunderstorm activity was anticipated as part of a developing pre-monsoon system. Wind speeds of up to 60 km/h were recorded in some areas. We issued timely nowcast bulletins to alert public and authorities."

The weather brought a notable dip in temperatures across the state. According to the daily weather summary released by IMD, Daltonganj registered the highest maximum temperature at 36.6°C, while Latehar recorded the state's lowest at 17.3°C. Ranchi reported 33.8°C maximum and 17.6°C minimum temperature.
Latehar received 2.5 mm rainfall. Ranchi received rainfall in the evening. Sakshi Sinha, a BIT Mesra student, said, "The sudden rain was refreshing."
Anand warned, "We urge people to avoid taking shelter under trees, stay indoors during lightning activity, and follow updates from IMD regularly to avoid lightning strikes."
With thunderstorms expected to continue in isolated pockets, residents and farmers are also advised to remain alert, especially in areas under active weather warnings.