Mercury level to soar further by 2-3 degrees in next 72 hrs

KOLKATA: In the next 72 hours, temperature in the state is likely to increase by 2 to 3 degree Celsius. Moreover, there are no predictions for rainfall across the state in the next 48 hours.

Though city is witnessing summer-like heat in the afternoons, there is slight nip in the air during early mornings. As the day progresses, the mercury level shoots up with scorching heat. According to sources in the Alipore Meteorological Department, such fluctuations in the temperature will continue to prevail in the next couple of days.

The highest temperature in the city on Monday remained at 33 degree Celsius, which is one notch below the normal. The lowest temperature in the city was recorded at 22.3 degree Celsius. The maximum level of humidity remained at 98 per cent, while the minimum hovered around 38 per cent.

The weather officials have predicted thunderstorms and light rainfall for three districts of North Bengal, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong and Darjeeling in the next 48 hours. The southern districts of the state will remain dry, they added.

Earlier, the MeT department had predicted soaring temperatures in March. The department had predicted that the temperature could touch the 41 degree Celsius-mark in March itself. On March 9, it was claimed on the IMD website that summer had arrived.

It seemed that spring had given people a miss this year. The weather forecasts for the period between March and May indicate that except for a few southern Indian states, several states in the country will experience summer. In northern, north-western, north-eastern and eastern states, the temperature will remain above normal in March. Even, the states in the foothills of Himalayas will also not be spared from the heat. It may be mentioned here that Bengal has seen hot days in the end of February. The mercury touched 40 degree in the districts like Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram, West Midnapore earlier this month. Weather experts said the mercury crossing over 40 degree Celsius-mark in Bankura and Purulia is not very common during this part of the year. The temperature generally starts going up from April in these two districts.