The minimum temperature, which remained in the 11-degree zone for a few days on the trot, has risen a few notches over the first few days of 2021.

Sunday’s minimum was 13.4 degrees and it is tipped to touch 14 over the next couple of days.

The Met office attributed the rise to a high-pressure zone over eastern Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and parts of Madhya Pradesh. “The system denied cold winds from Kashmir passage to Calcutta,” a Met official said.

A strong Western Disturbance over Afghanistan and Kashmir, which has triggered a cyclonic circulation over northwest India, Delhi and adjoining regions, is set to keep the weather in Calcutta reasonably warm, the Met office has said. “Under the influence of the circulation, the flow of cold winds has been stalled across northwestern India. If anything, easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal are flowing into the system. That is why the chill is missing in Calcutta,” said G.K. Das, the director of the India Meteorological Department, Calcutta.

“The system is expected to take around four to five days to pass, during which the temperature is expected to remain on the higher side.”

Once the system dissipates, the cold winds from north will again make inroads into Calcutta and trigger a plunge in the Celsius, said Das.