Maximum temperature: Almost 40 degrees.
Eden’s response: Over 55,700.
Cricket fans won the match against the soaring Celsius at the Eden Gardens on Friday.
The day’s maximum temperature, recorded by the Met office in Alipore, was 39.7 degrees. It was a climbdown from 41.7 degrees the day before, the second-hottest April day in Calcutta in 50 years.
But even Friday’s temperature was four notches above normal. The temperature came down because of a marginal rise in the humidity level. It was the same humidity that made the day more unbearable for Calcuttans. Throughout the day, people kept sweating and fretting.
The match at Eden, where Kolkata Knight Riders played Punjab Kings, started at 7.30pm, by when the worst of the heat assault was over for the day. But the humidity was still on the higher side. People had started trickling in at least a couple of hours before the first ball was bowled.
Fans cheer at Eden on Friday evening. Pradip Sanyal
The effect of the heat showed.
Swapan Dinda, 31, came with four friends from Kharagpur. Around 5.15pm, he was sitting under the shade of a tree near the stadium. He had a white towel slung on his shoulders. Dinda left home at 7 in the morning and took a train to Howrah.
“I will soak the towel in water when it gets unbearable inside,” said Dinda, whose shirt was already drenched with sweat.
Ishika Bore, a homemaker from Salt Lake, came with her husband and three-and-a-half-year-old son. She was carrying ORS-mixed water and a portable fan. Both for her baby, she said.
She was unaware that spectators were barred from carrying anything that can be used as a missile from the stands. A policeman told her as much.
“This is unexpected. I have to make do with wet tissues to keep the child cool,” she said.
Many fans carried chilled water bottles, only for the cops to take them away at the gates.
“We are sticking to the usual norms. If someone is given a leeway, others will also demand the same thing,” said a senior police officer.
Arati Chakraborty, 58, from Rishra in Hooghly, had come with her son. She was carrying ORS and candies in her bag. “This is my Eden debut. My elder son tried to dissuade me from coming, citing the heat. But I was determined to not let this opportunity pass,” said Chakraborty.
Inside, the fans were undeterred by the sultry conditions.
A blazing start by the KKR openers had the stands up on their feet. Only when the fans were seated did they use the posters as “fans”.
The decibel hit the roof as the giant screen showed Shah Rukh Khan for the first time around 8.10pm.
Even without the sun, the evening was taxing. Around 8pm, the temperature was 33 degrees, showed the website of AccuWeather, a US-based private weather forecasting agency. The RealFeel was 39 degrees.
“The rise in the humidity level was the reason why Friday felt more uncomfortable than Thursday, despite a lower day temperature,” said a Met official in Alipore.
On Thursday, the maximum and minimum relative humidity was 81 and 24 per cent, respectively. On Friday, they climbed to 92 and 30 per cent, respectively.
“A hint of southerly winds led to the rise in the humidity levels. The humidity in turn led to the drop in the day temperature. The humidity was just about enough to make
the conditions uncomfortable, but not enough to trigger thunderstorms,” the Met official said.
More discomfort meant increased use of air conditioners.
The highest ever peak demand in the CESC areas — 2,728MW — was recorded on Friday, between 3pm and 3.30pm, said an official of the utility. Till Friday, the highest ever peak demand was 2,606MW, recorded on June 16 last year.
In its Friday bulletin, the Met office said “heatwave conditions are likely to prevail over the districts of West Bengal during April 26 to 30”.