Temperature in city dips by about 11 degrees Celsius

Kolkata: Temperature in Kolkata dropped by 11 degrees Celsius in the past 48 hours giving a respite to the city dwellers from the scorching summer heat.

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore however said that mercury is expected to soar again later this week. The state government had issued directives to the district magistrates of several districts asking them to be alert following thunderstorms in several parts in the past 24 hours. West Midnapore and East Midnapore districts have been alerted. The MeT office said that it may rain in several north Bengal districts which include Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar.

Mercury had crossed 40 degrees Celsius in several south Bengal districts a few days ago. Following thundershowers in several parts since Saturday, the mercury started dropping. On last Saturday, the city had registered its highest temperature at 37.4 degrees while on Sunday the highest temperature was recorded at 30 degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature in the city on Monday remained at 25.9 degree Celsius.

According to the MeT office, a cyclonic circulation in Odisha caused the cloud cover. But the cyclonic circulation has weakened. The sky is likely to be sunnier while the maximum may hike up three notches by next Friday. “There is currently snowfall in parts of the Himalayas and winter-like conditions are prevailing in parts of the northwest. The northwesterly winds are likely to remain over Kolkata till end of this week,” said a senior weather official.

The minimum temperature in Kolkata is likely to hover around 23 degrees Celsius in the next 48 hours, while the maximum temperature might reach 35 degrees Celsius. The mercury level remained at around 33 degrees Celsius on Monday.