City remains below 12° C for seven days straight

Kolkata: The temperature in the city remained below 12 degree Celsius for seven consecutive days, coupled with chilly winter spell.

According to the regional meteorological centre in Alipore, the city has witnessed this type of situation after fourteen years. Kolkata on Thursday witnessed a marginal rise in the mercury but the weather condition did not improve.

The city recorded 11.5 degree Celsius on Thursday, three degrees below normal, whereas Wednesday's minimum temperature stood at 10.9 degree Celsius.

According to an official of the Alipore met office, the city had witnessed the temperature remaining below 12 degree Celsius for eleven consecutive days in 2003. Kolkata's minimum temperature plunged to 10.5 degree Celsius on last Monday, while on Tuesday it marginally increased up to 11 degree.

On Wednesday, mercury again dropped to 10.9 degree Celsius. Despite the fluctuating temperature, the cold condition remains unchanged in the city as well as the districts, under the influence of the north-westerly wind.

A senior official of the weather office said that in the next few days, the temperature will hover around 11-12 degree Celsius in the city. The situation may start improving after 15 January. The cold wave will continue to sweep through the other districts.

The city's adjoining districts Howrah and Hooghly recorded 10 degree while South 24-Parganas registered 11 degree Celsius. Mercury was hovering around 9 degree Celsius in districts like North 24-Parganas, Burdwan, Bankura and East Midnapore.

Darjeeling on Thursday saw as low as 2 degree, Jalpaiguri 8, Cooch Behar 11, Alipurduar and Balurghat 9 and Raigunge 7. Whereas, Malda, Suri and Berhampur recorded 8 degree, Krishnanagar 10 and Purulia 6 degree Celsius on Thursday. The western districts are witnessing a chilly spell, disrupting normal life.

Fog in various districts, more particularly in North Bengal, led to the disruption in train services. Ferry services have been affected in various parts of the state as well, due to dense fog during morning. Ferry services remained closed at Ballavpara and Sakhail Ghat of Katwa in East Burdwan for a while on Thursday morning.

As a result of this, passengers who avail ferry service to reach Nadia and Ketugram, faced inconveniences in the morning. The situation gradually returned to normal later in the day.

According to the Alipore weather office, there was a delay in the winter setting in due to some western disturbances that interrupted the flow of the north-westerly.

The foggy situation and cold wave will continue for the next few days, predicted the weather office. The temperature will fall by a few notches during night.

G K Das, Director of regional meteorological centre in Alipore, said: "The situation is likely to improve after mid January. During the next couple of days, temperature may go up by a few notches."