Evening rain and wind in Kolkata drag down rising Celsius ahead of Makar Sankranti

South Bengal is likely to get more rainfall till Friday

A pedestrian walks in the rain on Tuesday evening. : Picture: Sanat Kr Sinha

TT SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT | 12.01.22 :  Gusts of wind and light rain on Tuesday evening dragged the Celsius down in the city. In the afternoon, Kolkatans sweated and fretted in the second week of January as the Celsius climbed to nearly 28 degrees.

The woollens were hard to spot and the afternoon saw the fan or AC put on at some homes.

On Tuesday, the minimum temperature was around 19 degrees, a staggering four notches above what was normal for this time of the year. The maximum temperature was around 28 degrees, also significantly above usual.

The Celsius has been on a steep rise over the past week. Last Tuesday, the minimum and maximum temperatures were around 13 and 23 degrees respectively.

Met officials attributed the rise to a strong western disturbance. “The system has led to the formation of a trough of low pressure that extends from Rajasthan to Jharkhand at the moment. The trough is triggering significant moisture incursion into south Bengal. The moisture is leading to the cloud cover,” said G.K. Das, the director of the India Meteorological Department, Kolkata.

South Bengal, including Kolkata, is likely to get more rain from Tuesday night to Friday, according to the Met forecast. Kolkata is likely to get rain on a couple of days in this period.

“The overcast conditions will lend a chilly feeling. The sun will be hidden for most parts of the day. The night temperature is unlikely to change much. But the day temperature will come down significantly. People will tend to feel cold throughout the day,” said Das.