The Celsius fell five notches in the city on Monday, as northwesterly winds gained momentum in what a Met official said was “a brief, final stint” of winter.
The minimum temperature recorded by the Met office in Alipore, which serves as the official figure for Kolkata, was 17 degrees Celsius on Monday,a notch below normal.
Twenty-four hours ago, the minimum temperature was 21.8 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal.
The Celsius has been fluctuating in Kolkata over the past couple of weeks. But after this brief period of lower-than-usual temperature is over, the weather in Kolkata is likely to become hotter consistently, said a Met official.
“The minimum temperature is likely to go down by another degree in the next 24 hours and stay in that zone till Wednesday. This is the final stint of winter. From Thursday, the mercury will start rising, this time for good. Both the minimum and maximum temperatures will go up. By the weekend, the minimum temperature will climb to 21-22 degrees Celsius,” said G.K. Das, director, India Meteorological Department, Kolkata.
The northwesterly winds gained momentum after around of snowfall in Uttarakhand, said Das.
In Kolkata, the hint of chill came back from Sunday night. The cold winds made their presence felt through the night.
Even during the day, the heat was milder than what it had been for the past couple of days.
The maximum temperature was 29.1 degrees Celsius on Monday, down two notches from a day ago.
“The day felt milder because the day temperature fell,” said Das.