A blanket of cloud shrouded the city for the second consecutive day on Saturday.
The minimum temperature rose to 21.5 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal, as the moisture blocked the northwesterly winds, which have already become considerably weaker.
But because the sun barely came out, the day temperature was on the lower side. The maximum temperature was 27.8 degrees, two notches below normal. It had come marginally down from Friday.
Some parts of the city, like Jadavpur and Gariahat, saw a drizzle in the morning. But the Met office recorded zero rain in Alipore, which serves as the official record book of Kolkata.
The Celsius has been on a see-saw mode in the city. The minimum temperature on Wednesday was 15.3 degrees Celsius. That means in 72 hours, the minimum temperature has risen by six degrees.
The fluctuations are ideal for viral infections, warned doctors. Children and the elderly are especially vulnerable, they said.
Amitabha Saha, head of critical care at AMRI Mukundapur, said fluctuations in temperature increases the activity of viruses. At the same time, they also weaken the protective mechanism of the respiratory tract of humans.
“The combination of these two factors increases the infection rate and more people become ill,” said Saha.
About 25 per cent of all patients visiting Saha in a day were coming with symptoms of fever, cough and respiratory distress.
Senior officials of the state health department held a video conference with the chief medical officers of health of all districts about the rise in infections, especially among kids. A senior official said that they have noticed an increase in children getting infected.
Another official who was present in the meeting said stress was laid on timely reporting of patients getting admitted with respiratory illness, influenza and similar illnesses.
Many hospitals are also filled with patients with respiratory illnesses.
An official of AMRI Hospitals said that 115 patients were admitted in the three units of the group — in Salt Lake, Dhakuria and Mukundapur. Twenty-two of these patients were in the critical care unit. Five of them are children.
A cyclonic circulation over Odisha and Chhattisgarh was behind the overcast conditions, said a Met official.
“The system was over Odisha on Friday. On Saturday, it moved to parts of Chhattisgarh,” said G.K. Das, director, India Meteorological Department, Kolkata.
The sky is expected to be clearer on Sunday, according to the forecast.
“The sun will come out more prominently. Some clouds will still be there. But the maximum temperature is likely to go up gradually, starting Sunday,” said Das.