Thunderstorms likely in parts of state including city today

A cyclonic circulation over South Bengal is likely to bring thunderstorm on Wednesday, the MeT office indicated on Tuesday. The meteorologists said that a cyclonic circulation has formed over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and adjoining Assam. As a result, thunderstorms would be witnessed in South Bengal including Kolkata.

"It would be a cloudy morning in Kolkata on Wednesday. But we have to remember that it is a pre-monsoon season and rainy activities are normal now," said a senior meteorologist.

The regional meteorological centre (RMC) Kolkata on Tuesday gave two separate warnings after the latest Radar Observations.

In the first warning, it was said that thunderstorms are likely to affect some parts of Nadia, Murshidabad and Malda districts. The storm would be accompanied by lightning and rainfall with wind speed reaching 50 km per hour or more.

The second warning was almost similar to the first one but it indicated that thunderstorms would also reach Jhargram, East and West Midnapore, Kolkata, and South and North 24 Parganas.

Meanwhile, the MeT office recorded 41 degrees Celsius on Tuesday as the day time temperature. The night temperature was pegged at 33 degrees Celsius.

"The heat wave will continue for at least a week. Citizens would hardly get a break from this discomforting weather. A one-hour rain on Wednesday in the evening will not decrease the temperature much," the meteorologist added.

In this scorching summer, the Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) has set a new record in power supply. The power utility successfully handled the highest-ever demand of consumers struggling hard to fight the summer heat.

"The power demand reached its peak at 3.30 pm on Tuesday when CESC successfully supplied 2,113 megawatt power. A day earlier, on Monday, the earlier peak of 2,106 megawatt was recorded. Last year on April 27, CESC met a demand of 2,059 megawatt," said a spokesperson.

"We are glad that without any difficulty, it was possible for CESC to extend a helping hand to more than three million consumers trying hard to manage a harsh summer," the spokesperson said adding: "Breaking the peak demand record for two consecutive days is unheard of in the recent history."

Meanwhile, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation has started conducting drives to stop selling of cut fruits in the city. Though the civic authorities have warned people not to eat cut fruits that are kept in the open, people do not listen to the warnings and continue to take them. Drives against coloured drinks, that are locally made like serbats, are also being conducted.