Another low-pressure system is expected to take shape over the Bay of Bengal by Friday, said a Met official. But the system, like the two recent ones, is unlikely to trigger heavy rain in Kolkata.
“As of now, Kolkata is likely to get light to moderate rain from August 18 to 20. Some districts may get heavy rain,” said G.K. Das, director, India Meteorological Department, Kolkata.
August has seen two weather systems over the Bay of Bengal but they have not been able to narrow the rain deficit in Kolkata. The Met office has recorded around 120mm of rain between August 1 and 16 in Alipore.
The findings at the Alipore Met office usually go down as that of Kolkata. The usual average rainfall in August is around 350mm, based on the figures of the past three decades. July, usually the rainiest month, had ended with a 30 per cent deficit in Kolkata.
Met officials had blamed the gap on the absence of weather systems — like a cyclonic circulation and a low-pressure area — over the Bay.
Two low-pressure areas have formed over the Bay so far in August. But still, Kolkata has not received the rain it should have by the middle of August.
The Met office is now blaming the position of the weather systems.
“The systems formed either near the Odisha coast or further south and further away from Bengal. A system over the northeast Bay, closer to the Bangladesh and Myanmar coasts, is ideal for heavy rain in Kolkata. But the past two low-pressure areas formed far away,” said Das.
In Kolkata, the weekend was cloudy and rainy. But the conditions improved from Monday. Tuesday was back to being hot and humid. The next two days are also likely to be similar, said the official.