Some parts of Calcutta and South 24-Parganas saw a brief windy spell with light rain on Wednesday evening.

The pent-up heat on land and a high-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal led to the formation of rain-bearing clouds, a Met official said.

The temperature had been more than 35 degrees Celsius, and the RealFeel a few notches more for the past few days.

The brief spell of wind and rain would have been a welcome break for Calcuttans during any other year. But in times of lockdown because of the coronavirus, many Caluttans did not complain about the heat because of popular perception that the rising temperature might “kill” the virus.

How the novel coronavirus reacts to a change in temperature is still unknown, though, and is being researched.

The Celsius soared to 36.4 degrees on March 28 and has been hovering above 35 degrees for the past few days. On Wednesday, the maximum temperature was 37 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal.

“The heat had been accumulating for a few days. A high-pressure zone over the Bay, aided by the heat, sent a lot of moisture into the land and led to formation of cumulonimbus clouds. The clouds floated towards south Bengal via East and West Midnapore and Jhargram,” G.K. Das, director, India Meteorological Department, Calcutta, said.

The winds started blowing around 5.30pm, followed by light rain. The intensity was more in South 24-Parganas and on the city’s southern outksirts. The rain came in intermittent bursts.

Joka and Behala received around 5mm of rain and Dhapa around 4mm till 8pm, according to the civic body’s weather tracking website.

The weather will remain warm for the next few days, the Met office has said. “The maximum temperature is likely to be around 36 degrees Celsius,” a Met official said.