Incessant rain throws life out of gear in city, no respite till Friday

MP  | 28 February 2019 | Kolkata: The last three days of unprecedented rainfall, accompanied by gusty winds, thunderstorms and lightning have left the City of Joy with stationary traffic, waterlogged streets and a disrupted normal life. The city will continue to face such weather conditions for the next 24 hours, as predicted by the Alipore Meteorlogical department on Wednesday.

"The city will witness a cloudy sky with one or two spells of rain and thunderstorm, accompanied by lightning and very light gusty winds for the next 24 hours, due to the persistence of Western disturbances in the area. The maximum and minimum temperature in the city on Thursday should be around 28 degree Celsius and 17 degree Celsius respectively," said an official of the Alipore Meteorlogical department.

On Wednesday, the maximum temperature in the city was recorded at 27.4 degree Celsius, four degree lower than normal. The minimum temperature settled at 17.1 degree Celsius, which is three degree lower than normal. The maximum relative humidity in the city was recorded at 98 percent, while the minimum relative humidity stood at 70 percent.

"Over the last 24 hours, the average rainfall recorded in the city has been around 59.9 mm. The weather condition in the city may improve from Friday but more rains of similar intensity are likely to occur on Thursday," the official said.

Meanwhile, as per the rainfall data recorded by several pumping stations of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), Dhapa received the highest amount of rainfall at around 46.80 mm, whereas the second highest rainfall was recorded in Joka at 46.74 mm and the third highest in Patuli at 45.21 mm.

Apart from severe waterlogging in several pockets of the city which is being actively taken care of by the workers of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, daily commuters have also been facing a tough time due to ridiculous surge pricing in app cabs and even the yellow cab drivers asking for additional amount along with the fare.

Vehicular movement has also been thrown out of gear in several parts of the city such as Behala, Tollygunge and New Alipore, as well as some stretches of Central Avenue.

Other districts of South Bengal such as Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura, Howrah, Midnapore, Nadia, Purulia, North and South 24-Parganas have also been lashed by moderate to heavy rainfall, accompanied by thunderstorms.

The districts of North Bengal such as Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, Coochbehar, Malda and North and South Dinajpur have also been facing similar weather conditions.