Blistering heat to pose major challenge for the voters
Kolkata: Voters from the western districts of the state may have a tough time while standing at the queue as the temperatures may touch 42-43 degree Celsius on May 12 when elections would be held in eight Lok Sabha constituencies.
The Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore said western districts such as East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, Purulia and Bankura may experience heat wave till May 12, if there is no change in the weather system. The mercury may rise by 2-3 degree Celsius in many South Bengal districts, including the city, in the next 48 hours. There is no prediction of rainfall by the weather office in South Bengal as of now.
Elections will be held in eight constituencies — Tomluk, Kanthi, Ghatal, Jhargram, Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura and Bishnupur on May 12. There is good news for people in North Bengal districts as the MeT office predicted thunder shower in five districts in next couple of days.
According to a weather official, heat waves are entering the western parts of the state from Bihar and Jharkhand. Both the neighbouring states are reeling under heat wave conditions. The temperatures in the Western districts of Bengal may hover between 40 and 43 degree Celsius.
The weather office also predicted that during the night the temperature will be higher than the normal. The high-level of humidity in the air will also add to the discomfort. A low pressure turf has formed in North Bengal which will bring light to moderate rainfall accompanied with thunderstorm later this week.
"The humidity level will be on higher side in South Bengal districts. The temperatures may rise up to 38 degree Celsius in the next few days," deputy director general of Alipore weather office Sanjib Bandyopadhyay said.
City doctors gave some suggestions to battle the blistering heat. They advised people not to drink water or fruit juices from the road-side eateries. People should have fruits at home. The fruits that are cut and sold on the streets must be avoided. The doctors also advised people to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
They asked people to avoid spicy and restaurant foods and stay away from direct sunlight while on the streets. People, who go out in the sun should wear caps or use umbrellas and they should wear cotton clothes to get some respite from the humidity.
It may be mentioned that CESC successfully handled the highest-ever demand of consumers during the summer. According to a CESC spokesman, the power demand reached its peak at 3:30 pm on Wednesday when CESC successfully supplied 2262 MW. In June last year, CESC met a demand of 2,131 MW. The highest demand recorded on June 19, 2017 reached up to 2,159 MW.
"We are happy that CESC has successfully met this demand without any interruption. About 2,262 MW demand is the highest in the history of CESC. Over the past five years, CESC has been experiencing demand of more than 2,000 MW during summer," a CESC spokesperson said.
