Rain will not bring respite from scorcher: MeT

Kolkata: The city witnessed rainfall after a long spell of heat on Wednesday night, but the weather office says rain at this time will not bring considerable respite.

Various South Bengal districts will be under intense heat spell with the humidity shooting up for the next 48 hours, the Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore predicted on Wednesday. The weather office said that there may be light shower in some pockets of South Bengal including the city but it will fail to bring down the discomfort level that has been prevailing in the districts and the city. The mercury may continue to rise up by a few notches, resulting in the rise of discomfort level for the city-dwellers in the next two days. The discomfort level will also prevail in the coastal districts as well.

The MeT office has also forecast that the Western districts will continue to experience a heat wave condition in the next 48 hours. The city and some other South Bengal districts may receive scattered rainfall in the next 24 hours. The districts such as Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore, Jhargram, West Burdwan, Birbhum will witness high humidity level. While the South Bengal districts are expected to face hot and humid conditions, there may be some relief for the people in North Bengal districts as the weather office has predicted some thundershowers and gusty wind in various parts. The discomfort level will be high during the day but during the night, the temperature will slightly go down in South Bengal.

A weather official said: "Temperature will continue to remain above 40 degree Celsius during the next two days in the districts of Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapore and Jhargram. In other South Bengal districts, the highest temperature may remain between 36 and 38 degree Celsius. A high level of humidity will continue to haunt the city dwellers as well."

The weather office is yet to announce the arrival of the monsoon in state which will bring relief from the scorching summer heat. The MeT office has not given any specific idea on the timing of the monsoon.

According to a senior weather official, the cyclone 'Vayu' which is likely to hit the Gujarata coast on June 13 may further delay the advent of monsoon in the state. The weather office also says that it would be easier for them to predict the advent of the monsoon after the cyclonic spell is over. It may be mentioned here that the monsoon had already hit the Kerala coast a few days ago.