A cloudy sky and a breeze on Friday brought a brief respite from the scorching conditions prevalent in Calcutta and the rest of south Bengal over the past week.
But the clouds were not strong enough to cause uniform or widespread rain. That is likely from Sunday, said Met officials. Some pockets of Calcutta got a drizzle or two but the city was largely dry on Friday. The cloud cover had, however, been consistent since the forenoon and as the day progressed, it became breezy.
The maximum temperature came down a few notches, from Thursday’s maximum of 40.7 degrees Celsius to 38 degrees on Friday but it was still two degrees above normal.
Neighbouring Salt Lake still saw the Celsius knocking at 40 degrees but the impact was somewhat offset by the clouds and winds.
In Bankura, the maximum temperature was 37.5 degrees Celsius, a steep plunge of almost eight degrees.
Districts like Jhargram, Birbhum, West Midnapore and East Burdwan also enjoyed similar relief. Behrampore in Murshidabad was the hottest place in Bengal at 40 degrees Celsius on Friday.
The key difference was a change in the discomfort index. While the clouds provided a shield from the sun, the mild breeze every now and then made the conditions more than tolerable.
Around 3pm, the website of AccuWeather, showed Calcutta’s temperature to be around 38 degrees. The RealFeel was 39 degrees. For the past few days, the RealFeel would be at least four to five notches above the actual temperature.
“A cyclonic circulation has formed over Uttar Pradesh. Another trough line exists from Vidarbha (Chhattisgarh) to Tamil Nadu. A western disturbance passing through eastern India is behind the formation of both systems,” said G.K. Das, director, India Meteorological Department, Calcutta.
“Under the influence of the two systems, clouds formed over the region and moved eastwards towards Bengal via Jharkhand. But the clouds were neither tall nor strong enough to cause uniform rain,” said Das.
The clouds should largely be gone by Saturday but a new system is expected to create more clouds from Sunday.“Between Sunday and Tuesday, almost all districts of south Bengal are likely to get rain,” he said.
The change in weather showed on the roads. There were a lot more people and traffic on Friday afternoon. On Friday, Id shoppers were out early for their last-minute buys.
The mood was different in the districts, too.
Srimanta Ghosh, an economics teacher at a high school in Purulia’s Balarampur, said: “I had been planning to visit my native village in Bankura from my workplace in Purulia for the past seven days. It was not possible because of the scorching summer. As it was cloudy and relatively pleasant on Friday, I dared to start my journey.”
The winds made a significant difference, said a weather scientist. “Till yesterday, the westerly winds were dominant in the upper levels of the atmosphere. But in the lower levels, the windspeed was barely 10 to 15 km an hour. Today, the windspeed was largely between 25kmph and 35kmph,” he said.
“Saturday is likely to be hot again if the sun comes out. But the sky is likely to change from Sunday again,” he said.