Kolkata: The temperature in the city on Monday slightly dropped from what was recorded on Sunday, giving a cold shiver to the people.
According to the Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore, the mercury may drop further in the next 72 hours. The cold spell will also sweep through the city and South Bengal districts in the next couple of days, as predicted by the weather office.
The city on Monday witnessed a further dip in the temperature as it touched 10.5 degree Celsius, which is the lowest recorded in the past five years. The city's temperature on Sunday stood at 10.6 degree Celsius.
According to the Met office prediction, the temperature may dip below 10 degree Celsius in the city in the next couple of days. The mercury has already dipped below 10 degrees Celsius in some of the South Bengal districts. The cold spell started on January 3 this year, when the city recorded a minimum temperature of 13 degree Celsius.
According to the records, the mercury had plunged below 10 degree Celsius only twice in the last decade. It touched 9 degree Celsius in January 2013 and 9.6 degree Celsius in January 2012. According to a senior official of the Met office, the prevailing conditions are conducive for the cold spell to extend further, at least for the next four days. There will be no respite from the chilly spell in South Bengal as of now.
East Burdwan has recorded a minimum temperature of 5.6 degree Celsius, while Sriniketan had touched 6.8 degree Celsius on Monday. Asansol, Krishnanagar and Purulia registered 7.8 degree whereas Durgapura, Bankura and Jhargram recorded 7.5, 8.6 and 8 degrees respectively.
According to the official, the chilly spell will sweep through the city under the influence of the north-westerly wind, which is bringing cold air from North India. The north-westerly originates from Jammu and Kashmir, which has seen heavy snowfall.
The cold spell has also been sweeping through the entire northern region including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar. The chilly spell may sweep through till the north-westerly's flow is interrupted, the official maintained.
It may be mentioned here that there was a little delay in the winter setting in as the western disturbances had slowed down the process of north-westerly flow.
G K Das, Director, Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore, said: "There is a possibility that temperature in the city may drop below 10 degree Celsius in the next few days. The cold wave will also sweep through due to the impact of north-westerly".