Downpour in the hills. Wet and sultry in patches in the plains.

That is what the sky has in store for the next few days, the Met office has said.

Calcutta has been receiving multiple spells of rain since Friday night. A mass of dark clouds hovered over the city’s skyline late on Saturday afternoon, triggering a flurry of pictures — from the balconies of highrises — on social media.

The rain that followed was not commensurate with the cloud, but it brought the temperature down and ensured the weather remained pleasant for the rest of the day — a relief from the sultry condition the city has faced for the past couple of days.

The respite is temporary, GK Das, director of the India Meteorological Department, Calcutta, said. “The oscillating monsoon trough is in the foothills of the Himalayas. Places like Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Coochbehar, Darjeeling and Kalimpong are expected to get heavy rain for the next two days.

“Calcutta and adjacent areas are tipped to get spells of light to moderate rain. When it does not rain, the sun will come out. The heat and humidity are likely to make the weather uncomfortable.”

The monsoon trough keeps changing. When it is in the foothills of the Himalayas, north Bengal and the Northeast receive rain. When it descends to the north of Bay of Bengal, coastal Bengal receives rain.

The humidity levels remain on the higher side during the monsoon. The minimum relative humidity, a measure of the moisture content in the air during the hottest part of the day, has been more than 60 per cent for the past several days in Calcutta. On July 8, it was 76 per cent.

The first month of the monsoon ended with a 30 per cent surplus rain in Calcutta. July, among the wettest monsoon months, has been rainy so far. But the rain has not been heavy in Calcutta.