Christmas Wednesday had maverick weather with a sharp drop in day readings and a rise in night temperatures.

Morning showed the day as Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Daltonganj woke up to fog and cloud on Wednesday.

Several parts of north-western parts of Jharkhand, including Daltonganj, saw light showers since Tuesday night, thanks to the impact of an anti-cyclonic circulation.

Night temperatures took an upward turn. Ranchi recorded a minimum of 11°C on Wednesday, two points above normal, against Tuesday’s 10°C . Jamshedpur saw a rise in night readings. The local Met observatory here recorded a minimum of 13.2°C on Wednesday, two points above normal, against Tuesday’s 12°C.

Day temperatures fell abruptly due to the cloud cover. Ranchi’s maximum was around 19°C on Wednesday, down from 25°C on Tuesday. Jamshedpur recorded a maximum of 24°C, down from Tuesday’s 27°C.

Weathermen said the anti-cyclone circulation hovered 1.5km above mean sea level.

“The anti-cyclonic circulation formed over Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh on Tuesday evening saw heavy moisture incursion in the lower levels of the atmosphere, resulting in light showers. The condition resulted in an abrupt rise in night temperatures and fall in day readings,” said S.C. Mandal, an IMD scientist at Ranchi Meteorological Centre.

He went on to say that the confluence of moisture-laden south-westerly winds in the lower layers of the atmosphere and dry north-westerly wind resulted in such weather.

On Wednesday, the Met department issued a warning of light to moderate rain and thundershowers at isolated places in the districts of central and southern Jharkhand in the next 24 hours.

From Friday-Saturday, the chill will again intensify.

In Ranchi, though it was Christmas, the chilly day forced many, especially children and the elderly, indoors. Mamta Devi, a homemaker at Harmu, said she did not allow her son to go out and play. At Burdwan Compound, a UKG student of Holy Cross School, Navneet Kumar, again told to stay inside, told his father to get him a special treat as compensation. “Bring chicken today,” the little boy was heard saying.