A cold wave is making north India shiver, but the last few days have been unusually warm in the city. The weatherman said that this was because the cold northwesterly winds were blocked from reaching the city.
Kolkatans are back to wearing summer clothes and their fancy winter wear is warming up in their homes. When can Kolkatans expect cooler days and how will that happen? The Telegraph tries to answer some of the questions.
How warm were the past few days?
Christmas and the day after have been the warmest in the last five years at least. The weather did not cool down significantly on Tuesday and Wednesday also. The minimum temperature, which is recorded between 5am and 6am, was 6.9 degrees above normal on Tuesday and 6.8 degrees above normal on Wednesday.
Why the warm weather?
The cold northwesterly winds that push down the mercury could not reach Kolkata as they were blocked by moisture-laden winds from the Bay of Bengal. The moisture-laden winds also kill the chill in the air. A few parts of Kolkata witnessed drizzles after midnight on Tuesday and on Wednesday morning because of the heavy moisture incursion.
How is it that the southwesterly winds from the Bay of Bengal reached Kolkata but the northwesterly could not reach the city?
G.K. Das, the director of the India Meteorological Department, Kolkata, said the speed of the moisture-laden winds from the Bay was higher than the cold northwesterly winds. Because of their higher speed, these winds had reached as far as Jharkhand and blocked the path of cold winds from entering Bengal. The sky over Kolkata is filled with moisture-laden winds.
Are they still blocking the cold winds?
Das said the high-pressure zone has moved deeper into the sea and weakened, which has raised the possibility of cold northwesterly winds arriving in Kolkata. “We have noticed a drop in the temperatures in Bihar and Jharkhand on Wednesday. We are expecting a drop in the temperature in Kolkata on Thursday as the cold winds start arriving,” he said.
The maximum temperature, which is recorded in the afternoon, was 25.4 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, which is 0.3 degrees normal. For the last few days, the maximum temperature, too, has remained several notches above normal.
The northwesterly winds that are on their way to Kolkata are the same winds that have brought a cold wave in north India?
Yes, said Das. But he did not forecast any unusually cold weather in Kolkata. “The winds lose intensity as they travel. Let the normal temperature for this time of the year return, then we can say how much colder it will be in the next few days,” he said.
How will the coming days be?
Das said that the northwesterly winds were again expected in large volumes from Thursday. “The temperatures will drop from Thursday and it seems the next few days will be colder,” he said.
So, Kolkatans can expect to usher in the New Year with a chill in the air.