A hot and humid day led to showers in the evening in Kolkata on Monday, much like the day before.
The showers were not linked to the southwest monsoon, which set foot in north Bengal on Monday, said Met officials.
“The southwest monsoon has further advanced into the remaining parts of Tamil Nadu, some more parts of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, northwest Bay of Bengal, most parts of sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim and some parts of Bihar on June 12,” the Met office said.
A Met official in Alipore said the monsoon is unlikely to arrive in Kolkata until three days from now.
“The southwesterly winds that mark the arrival of the monsoon come via the Bay of Bengal. A low-pressure area over the Bay or the coastal areas is a sign of active monsoon conditions. A system propels the winds into the coastal area. But that is not the case at present. The monsoon conditions are not very strong,” said G.K. Das, director, India Meteorological Department, Kolkata.
The usual arrival date of the monsoon for north Bengal is June 5 and for south Bengal June 8. Both dates come with an error margin of three to four days.
While some of the districts of north Bengal are likely to get heavy rain in the next few days, hot and humid weather is likely to continue in south Bengal, including Kolkata.
A cyclonic circulation over Bihar is drawing moisture from the Bay. The heated surface of the earth and the moisture led to the formation of thunderclouds, which travelled towards the coast, causing thunderstorms.
Apart from Kolkata, West Midnapore, Purulia, Bankura, East and West Burdwan, Howrah and South 24-Parganas experienced thunderstorms on Monday.
In the city, the sky started changing colours after 5pm. Around 5.40pm, the Maidan sky looked ominous. At some places, gusts of wind were accompanied by frequent streaks of lightning.
The showers started in south Kolkata and its fringes shortly after 5.45pm. In some areas of central Kolkata, the showers started around 6pm.
The Met office recorded a squall in Alipore at 5.41pm. It lasted around three minutes and clocked 58kmph.
The showers cooled the city. The Met office recorded around 15mm of rain in Alipore.
The maximum temperature in Kolkata was 36.2 degrees, two notches above normal, on Monday.
The districts were hotter. Bankura and Purulia saw the Celsius go past 40 degrees.