Day pleasant in Siliguri and hills: Dana brings down temperature in north

 Across the region, the sky remained overcast throughout the day, with intermittent bouts of drizzle in all eight districts, accompanied by a strong gale at many places

Cloudy sky over Siliguri on Friday.: Pictures by Passang Yolmo

TT, Siliguri, 26.10.24,: Cyclone Dana, which made landfall in Odisha on Thursday night, brought about a chill feel in most parts of north Bengal on Friday.

Across the region, the sky remained overcast throughout the day, with intermittent bouts of drizzle in all eight districts, accompanied by a strong gale at many places.

Such weather conditions brought down the temperature during the day. It further dipped in the evening, prompting people in places like Siliguri, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar to wear woollens.

In Siliguri, the day temperature dipped to around 25 degrees Celsius, which made the weather pleasant. Even in places like Malda, the maximum temperature was 27.2 degrees Celsius during the past 24 hours, which is around five degrees below normal.

In Darjeeling town, the maximum and minimum temperatures during the past 24 hours were 17.8 degrees Celsius and 12.4 degrees Celsius respectively.

“Tourists visiting the hills are having a pleasant time because of the chill factor. Although it drizzled for some time, their trips weren't affected and hundreds of them roamed around in Chowrasta and went to other destinations,” said a hotelier based in the hill town.

Similar weather conditions persisted in other hill towns like Kurseong, Kalimpong and Mirik. In the neighbouring Sikkim, the weather was pleasant throughout the day.

“We have been on a trip to Sikkim for the past couple of days but today, the weather was the best. We enjoyed the chill from morning till evening hours. Unlike the winter months, it was not a biting cold and so, more enjoyable,” said Rakesh Shrestha from Delhi.

As the clouds continued to hover over the region, weather experts said there was a forecast of rainfall in some of the upper reaches of Sikkim in the next couple of days. A few days back, it had snowed in the Tsomgo (Chhangu) Lake and adjoining areas.

“Rainfall has been forecast in the sub-Himalayan region and other districts of north Bengal in the next 24 hours,” said a source at the India Meteorological Department.