Heavy rain warning issued for S Bengal as low pressure lingers

Kolkata: The Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore has warned of heavy rain in parts of south Bengal in the next 48 hours. It has also issued a thunder, lightning and gusty wind warning for some districts. A red alert of heavy rainfall has been issued for north Bengal.

The MeT office said that the intensity of a low pressure has slightly reduced but it will continue to rain in several parts in the next two days. A low pressure was formed over Bay-of-Bengal that brought rainfall in several parts in the past 24 hours. The sky remained cloudy in several parts of south Bengal on Wednesday.

Kolkata may receive light to moderate showers during this period. The spell of rain will be under the influence of a low-pressure area over west central Bay-of-Bengal and adjoining northwest Bay, off the north Andhra-south Odisha coasts.

“There may be heavy rainfall in some south Bengal districts which include East Burdwan, West Burdwan, North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, East Midnapore on Thursday. A scattered rainfall may happen in Purulia, Birbhum and Murshidabad. In north Bengal, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur will receive heavy rainfall,” The MeT office said.

The low pressure system that was a cyclonic circulation till Monday had already been injecting moisture into the land. With a few spells of rain from Monday evening, the mercury in Kolkata has already started dipping. On Tuesday, the maximum temperature climbed down to 30.9°C from 33.9°C the previous day. The minimum dipped to 28.2°C from 30.6°C as well. On Wednesday, the highest temperature remained at around 31°C. Temperatures were below normal levels in various parts of south Bengal. Heavy showers are unlikely for the city but possible in other parts of the state. Thursday’s forecast for Kolkata predicts cloudy skies with light rain, daytime temperatures reaching 31°C, and nighttime lows of 21°C.