Thursday was consistently cloudy in Kolkata and the conditions were far milder than they usually are in the middle of April.
On Eid, the Alipore Met office recorded a maximum temperature of 32.3 degrees Celsius, three notches below normal.
The minimum was 25.6, which was normal.
The city had suffered a week-long heat assault since the beginning of April. On April 4, the maximum temperature in Kolkata was around 36 degrees Celsius. The day before, it was 37.
“The morning was quite pleasant. God has been very kind,” said Sk Samiruddin, a trader from Kidderpore who was among the tens of thousands at the Eid prayer on Red Road, which started around 8.30am.
A week ago, stepping out of the home during daytime, even in the morning, was an ordeal.
The Celsius is unlikely to shoot up in Kolkata in the next couple of days.
“Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and minimum temperatures most likely to be around 34°C and 26°C,” was the forecast for Friday. By Sunday, the Celsius is likely to touch 36.
Parks, museums, malls and multiplexes were crowded throughout Thursday as people made most of the pleasant weather. On the Maidan, children enjoyed rides on ponies and families on phaetons. A large number of youngsters with cameras were taking pictures or recording videos.
There were queues in front of the ticket counters at the Victoria Memorial and the Alipore zoo. People selling peanuts, ice cream and chats did brisk business. Eco Park in New Town was also the destination for many.
A Met official ruled out uniform or widespread rain in the next few days.
“There is a slight possibility of localised showers if the conditions are favourable. But thunderstorms all across south Bengal are unlikely,” he said.
“A trough of low pressure from southeast Rajasthan to northeast Bangladesh,
which runs across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and sub-Himalayan West Bengal at 0.9km above the mean sea level, has become less marked. A cyclonic circulation, which lies over east Bihar and neighbourhood and extends upto 1.5km above the mean sea level, has also weakened,” he said.