Thunderstorms drench city; IMD issues ‘orange alert’ for city & adjoining dists
Kolkata: Heavy rain and thunderstorms lashed parts of Kolkata and adjoining districts on Friday afternoon. Darkness descended on several south Bengal districts in the afternoon as clouds engulfed the districts.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for the city and nearby districts, including North 24-Parganas, Nadia and East Midnapore, cautioning residents of possible lightning and thunderstorms, gusty winds (30-40 kmph) in the next 24 hours.
The IMD has also placed North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, East Midnapore, West Midnapore of South Bengal under yellow alert on October 11 (Saturday), warning of thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds and lightning at isolated places. People have been advised to refrain from taking shelter under trees or near electric poles during lightning activities.
A yellow alert was issued for Friday in Kolkata, North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, East and West Midnapore, Jhargram and Nadia, with a warning of light to moderate rain along with thunderstorms and lightning at one or two places.
Meanwhile, the situation in North Bengal remains relatively stable. According to the weather office prediction, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, and Cooch Behar are likely to experience only light rain or thundershowers at isolated places, with no weather warnings issued for the region.
Kolkata will experience a maximum temperature of around 32 degree Celsius, while the minimum temperature may remain near 25 degree Celsius in the next 24 hours. On Friday, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 31.5 degree Celsius, and a minimum of 25.8 degree Celsius.
The prevailing weather condition has been attributed to a cyclonic circulation over south Bangladesh and adjoining areas extending up to 5.8 km above mean sea level, coupled with a trough running from south Odisha to the Comorin area across coastal Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the MeT office said.
