The run-up to Christmas has been chilly but December 25 is likely to see a rise in the Celsius by a couple of notches in Kolkata, the Met office said on Tuesday.
“A cyclonic circulation is expected to take shape on the Bay of Bengal. Under its effect, moisture incursion is likely to go up from December 22. The sky is likely to be cloudy in Kolkata,” said a Met official.
He said by December 25, the minimum temperature is tipped to rise to around 17 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature has been between 14 and 15 degrees in Kolkata for close to a week now.
“Winter in Kolkata is usually not consistently chilly for a long time. It is sandwiched between Western Disturbances in the north and Bay systems in the south. Whenever one of the two systems takes shape, there is increased moisture incursion and the minimum temperature goes up,” said Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, deputy director-general of the India Meteorological Department, Alipore.
In Kolkata, the Celsius slid to 13.7 degrees, the lowest so far this season, on Sunday. On Tuesday, it was 15.1 degrees, normal for this time of the year.
Even the day temperature has been on the lower side for the past week. “The bite of the strong northwesterly winds had led to a dip in the day temperature. The chilly winds now have unhindered access from Kashmir to Kolkata, via Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand,” said a Met official.
“But the conditions are expected to change gradually. The first cold spell of this winter is likely to be interrupted soon,” he said.