Winter chill sets in: Mercury dips by 20 C, likely to slide below 10 degree Celsius, says MeT

Kolkata: Mercury in the city dropped by 2 degree Celsius on Sunday with the lowest temperature registered at 13.5 degree Celsius. The cold wave condition will continue in all the South Bengal districts in the next few days, said the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore.

The MeT office predicted that mercury may go down below 10 degree Celsius in the western districts in the next couple of days as there has been a steady flow of cold north wind.

Mercury almost dropped near 10 degrees in various western parts of the state. People in Kolkata and various south Bengal districts felt comparatively colder weather. Mercury is expected to fall further. Temperature will drop further in Kolkata in the next couple of days. The city on Sunday registered its highest temperature at 24.1 degree Celsius.

The city on Saturday registered the lowest temperature at 15.8 degree Celsius. The cold wave condition may be again hampered a few days later due to the impact of the western disturbances as it will affect the steady flow of cold north winds. Few days ago the mercury had dropped to 11 degree Celsius in Kolkata but it again started sliding up due to the influence of the western disturbances.

Incidentally, people in Darjeeling witnessed the first snowfall of the season last week.

People congregated in large numbers at Sandakphu, Tiger Hill and many other places to witness the snowfall. The visitors have already been experiencing a cold shiver in various tourist destinations in north Bengal.

The city dwellers had experienced a rise in the temperature last week.

The western districts like Purulia, Bankura, West Burdwan and Birbhum will witness colder weather.

Mercury may drop at around 12 degree Celsius in Kolkata in the next couple of days while the western districts may see a drop at around 9-10 degree.

Meteorologists have already predicted that the pollution level in Kolkata may turn worse this winter compared to that of previous years due to the impact of La Nina which is expected to blow over east and north India between December this year and February next year.

La Nina is a weather pattern that occurs in the Pacific Ocean under the impact of which strong winds blow from warm water at the ocean's surface from South America to Indonesia.