Hills see sunshine, North Bengal plains witness biting cold and fog

MP | 9 Jan 2023 | Kolkata/Darjeeling: After a few days of biting cold in the city when temperature dropped to about 10.9 degree Celsius, the minimum temperature seems to be on a steady rise. 

Kolkata recorded a minimum temperature of 12.2 degree Celsius on Sunday. The meteorologists believe that the minimum temperature may remain persistent for the next three days and the mercury in Kolkata may also stand at around 12 degree Celsius. 

At the same time, it has been predicted that the temperature may increase by two to three degrees in the city and adjoining areas by the end of this week. Meanwhile, while it was clear blue skies and sunshine in the Hills, the plains of North Bengal witnessed biting cold and fog. While most of the trains are running much beyond schedule, flights are also being delayed. 

There have been reports of accidents owing to low visibility due to fog in the plains. Every year Anuradha Sharma, a resident of Darjeeling goes down to Siliguri with her aged mother and stays in a rented apartment for two months (January and February) to escape the Darjeeling winters. 

“This time it seems people from Siliguri will have to go to Darjeeling to enjoy the pleasant weather,” mused Sharma. “There is no western disturbance in this region resulting in clear sky and rise in temperature in the Hills. There is an elongated patch of fog present from North-West India to North-East India. This is restraining the rise in temperatures in the plains,” stated Dr Gopinath Raha of IMD, Gangtok. 

As per IMD data, the maximum temperature recorded in Darjeeling on January 7 was 17.2 degree Celsius, 6 degrees above normal. The minimum recorded temperature was 6 degree Celsius. The average minimum temperature recorded in the plains of North Bengal is around 10 degree Celsius. 

In South Dinajpur, 87-year-old Ratna Chowdhury died of severe burn injuries at the Gangarampur Hospital on Saturday night when she had lit a fire to escape the cold but her clothes had caught fire. 

“We have instructed the Balurghat Municipality to watch over and help the homeless,” stated Bijin Krishna, District Magistrate, South Dinajpur. (With additional inputs from South Dinajpur, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar) 

Courtesy & source- Millennium post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/hills-see-sunshine-north-bengal-plains-witness-biting-cold-and-fog-504810