Football is not the only thing keeping Kolkata warm in winter. The elements are also at play.
December is two weeks old but there is not even a hint of chill. Kolkatans, however, can expect a plunge in the Celsius over the weekend following a sharp drop in the temperature in Kashmir, meteorologists said.
Based on the Met stats over the past three decades, the average minimum temperature in Kolkata in December is around 15.5 degrees Celsius.
On December 1, the minimum temperature in Kolkata was 19.6 degrees, three notches above normal. On Wednesday, the maximum temperature was 17.6 degrees, two notches above normal. The minimum temperature has been above average on 10 out of 14 days this month.
Around 11.30am, many people at the Victoria Memorial were seen with their jackets and sweaters tied to their waist or slung from the shoulders.
“Only in the early hours of the day do I need a light jacket. Otherwise, the days are quite warm,” said Ujjwal Mukherjee, 48, a Tollygunge resident who jogs in the Rabindra Sarobar compound every day.
A Met official attributed the unusual weather to systems on the Bay of Bengal.
In the first week of December, a low-pressure area took shape over the southeast Bay of Bengal. By December 7, the system intensified into Cyclone Mandous. Two days later, the storm made landfall near Chennai.
“During its lifecycle, the system kept drawing cold northwesterly winds towards itself. As a result, the northwesterly winds were headed towards Tamil Nadu, away from West Bengal. For much of December, Kolkata received easterly winds under the influence of the system,” said G.K. Das, director, India Meteorological Department, Kolkata.
There was a similar situation at the start of the month.
A cyclonic circulation had formed over the west-central Bay of Bengal. Under its influence, the flow of northwesterly winds got disrupted. Instead of the winds from Kashmir, northeasterly winds started entering the city from Bangladesh and Assam. The winds came via the Bay of Bengal, leading to some moisture incursion.
“For the past 48 hours, a high-pressure zone has been persisting over the Bay. It is also leading to some moisture incursion into Kolkata,” he said. But following a fresh plunge of the mercury in Jammu and Kashmir, the northwesterly winds are now set to enter Kolkata, according to the Met forecast.
“The Celsius is set to drop to 15 degrees and lower in the course of the weekend,” said a Met official.
Das of IMD said the above-average temperature in the first two weeks of December is not “very unusual” in Kolkata.
The Met records showed as much. The first fortnight of December 2021, 2019 and 2017 had been warmer than this year (see chart).
“December 15 to January 15 is the time for chill in Kolkata,” said Das.
Last year, Cyclone Jawad was barrelling towards the east coast in early December. The storm ultimately hit land in Odisha. Under its influence, Kolkata got rain and a cloudy sky.
The moisture stalled the northwesterly winds and the minimum temperature was a few notches above normal for a few days. But in the absence of sunlight, the maximum temperature dropped by a several notches, leading to a hint of chill in Kolkata.