The incessant rainfall on Wednesday brought down the maximum temperature in Kolkata by a whopping 13 degree Celsius below normal as the MeT forecast continued inclement weather in the city till Thursday.
Wednesday’s maximum temperature in Kolkata was 21.1 degree Celsius and minimum was 18 degree Celsius, the MeT department said. It is a drop from Tuesday wherein the maximum temperature was recorded at 28 degree Celsius and minimum was 23 degree Celsius. This is the second lowest maximum temperature in March from 1970. The last lowest maximum temperature in March was 20.3 degrees Celsius on March 13, 2003, the MeT department said.
The metropolis recorded 18.6 mm rainfall in 24 hours till 5.30 pm on Wednesday as light to moderate rain continued from the early hours of the day, it said.
The presence of a cyclonic circulation over northwest Uttar Pradesh and a trough from Jharkhand to South Assam, with strong moisture incursion from Bay of Bengal, has resulted in rain and thunderstorm.
Light to moderate rainfall is likely to take place till March 23 for North Bengal districts and till March 21 in South Bengal.
Across all districts in South Bengal, thunderstorms with lightning and rainfall with wind speed reaching 30 to 40 kilometre per hour is likely to take place on Thursday as well.
This may result in damage to standing vegetable crops and damage to unsecured structure. Meanwhile, the Weather department has warned people to not move in open areas at the time of lightning and take shelter in safe places. People have also been asked to avoid taking shelter under trees or electric poles at the time
of lightning.