Winter steadily tightens grip

 The temperature has decreased in the city as the weather scientists predicted the arrival of winter this year.

A chilly north-westerly winds blowing into the city made the morning nip continue till early afternoon on Friday. The city recorded a minimum temperature of 16.9 degree Celsius on Thursday, which was two degrees below normal. On Friday, regional meteorological centre – Kolkata recorded 17.7 degree Celsius.

This two-degree dip in temperature on Thursday left Kolkata shivering in early-winter chill on Friday morning. While a drop in minimum temperature had been predicted, it turned out to be cooler than expected.

The night temperature in Kolkata has been decreasing steadily over the past fortnight. While many have stopped switching on their fans and ACs at night, the chill at dawn and the early hours have forced morning walkers to wear sweaters or mufflers as they head out for a stroll.

“While the night temperature had been hovering around 24°C even till the first week of November, it has since dropped to about 17°C,” said weather scientists of RMC Kolkata.

Presently there is no such depression on the Bay of Bengal, which led to sunny days ahead. With no system forming in the sea, the path has been left clear for the chilly north-westerly winds to blow in.

The drop in mercury depends on the force of the wind. It turned out to be more intense than what the weathermen was expecting earlier. RMC Kolkata expected the minimum temperature to drop to around 18 degrees on Thursday. But it was 16.9 degree Celsius, which amazed them certainly.

November 14, 2015 is still remembered as the hottest day of this month as maximum touched 34.9°C. The weathermen described the day as unusual. But generally, winter appears by the second fortnight of November and the first bite of winter is felt as maximums drops below 30°C. This year, it is already around 16-17 degree Celsius, which means Kolkata is set to feel the chill soon.