A strong northwesterly wind from places like Kashmir that have received intense snowfall resulted in a chill on Thursday that made Calcuttans put on an extra layer of clothing.

The day’s maximum temperature was 24.3 degrees Celsius and the minimum was 13 degrees, both two notches below normal.

A week, back, on January 21, the maximum temperature had touched 27.2 and the minimum 19.2. The minimum temperature then was five degrees above normal.

The Alipore Met office forecast a slight rise in the temperature on Saturday, followed by another dip that is likely to continue for four or five more days.

A few days ago, Calcuttans were lamenting a hasty retreat of winter.

“Strong northwesterly winds blowing in from Jammu and Kashmir that experienced intense snowfall for the last few days have brought the temperature down,” said G.K. Das, the director of Indian

Meteorological Department, Calcutta.

“The temperature is likely to rise slightly on Saturday morning because of some local clouding but will drop again. The cold spell is likely to continue till February 4 or 5,” Das said.

A resident of Jadavpur said she had to close the window of her room on the northern side because cold air was blowing in around noon. “I did not expect such a cold air to blow around noon. It was pretty cold. So I shut the windows quickly,” she said.

The day was not foggy and bright sunlight made the cold pleasant.

A Gariahat resident who had stepped out in the afternoon also spoke about an unexpected cold wind. “The wind was hitting me on my head, face and ears. I did not expect such a strong wind in the afternoon. We are used to such strong winds during the Gangasagar Mela,” he said.

Das said some parts of eastern India might get rain in a day or two and it may bring down the temperature in Calcutta further for a brief period. “A late but good spell of winter will be experienced for the next few days,” said Das.

On Calcutta’s streets, the drop in temperatures meant people were out wearing their bright winter wear.

A Sovabazar resident who had gone to New Market on Thursday for shopping said he noticed everyone was wearing a jacket or a sweater. Some were wearing woollen caps, too.

“A week back, we did not have to wear a jacket even during the evening. On Thursday, people were wearing woolen caps even during the afternoon,” he said.