WEATHERMEN PREDICT VERY HEAVY RAIN IN DARJEELING

HT, 18 August 2015, Kolkata: As the city sweats it out, the Met department has warned of extremely heavy rain in the hills over the next 48 hours, which may trigger fresh landslides.

“Heavy to very heavy rain is likely to lash Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar. In some places there could be extremely heavy rainfall,” said director of the Indian Meteorological Department’s regional office GC Debnath.

The met department issues a warning of ‘extremely heavy rainfall’ when the total rainfall in 24 hours is expected to cross 244.5 mm. It is one stage above very heavy rainfall (124.5 mm – 244.5 mm). Kolkata received ‘very heavy rainfall’ on July 10 when the met recorded 144 mm. The city experienced extremely heavy rain in August 1888 when it received around 253 mm rain on a single day.

“Such high intensity rainfall could trigger fresh landslides in Darjeeling. Several areas are prone to landslides in the hills. Heavy rainfall makes them more vulnerable,” said an expert of the Geological Survey of India. Dozens were killed in Darjeeling when heavy rain triggered landslides in the first week of July.

However, the plains would remain dry with occasional showers in isolated areas. “The monsoon trough is now located over the hills and is hyper active. This would trigger the rain,” said Debnath.

In Kolkata the sky would remain partly cloudy and there are chances of rain and thundershower in some areas. But as there are no systems such as a low pressure or an anti-cyclonic circulation, the rain won’t be widespread.

(Shared by KalimNews in http://kalimpongonlinenews.blogspot.in/2015/08/weathermen-predict-very-heavy-rain-in.html and  http://kalimpongonlinenews.blogspot.com/2015/08/weathermen-predict-very-heavy-rain-in.html)