Rain came in a short spell to some pockets of Bankura, around 175km west of Kolkata, on Thursday. The showers were attributed to local cloud formation. Met officials said the clouds were too weak to reach even close to Kolkata.
The city saw a maximum temperature of 37.3 degrees Celsius. The relative humidity was close to 50 per cent. The weatherman offered a word of hope. “The hot and dry westerly winds are showing signs of weakening,” said G.K. Das, director, IMD, Kolkata.
The moisture-laden easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal, crucial for rain and thunderstorms, are expected to enter south Bengal soon.
The earliest possibility of rain in the city is on May 2.
“The rain in Bankura happened from local clouds. There was some moisture from secondary sources like rivers and local water bodies. There was sufficient heating. The heating and local moisture led to the formation of some clouds,” said Das.
Purulia was the hottest place in West Bengal on Thursday, recording a maximum temperature of 44.3 degrees.
Fire breaks out at diagnostic centre
A fire broke out at a diagnostic centre situated on the ground floor of a three-storey building on Kalachand Sanyal Lane in Shyampukur in north Kolkata on Thursday, police said.
The fire started around 1.40pm. A lone fire tender brought the flames under control within an hour, the police said.
