Bengal’s coolest place Darjeeling recorded an uncomfortable hat-trick at 28.2 degree Celsius on Monday.
“Three days of constant high temperature in this region is unprecedented,” said G.N. Raha, the head of the IMD, Gangtok.
The maximum temperature has remained constant in Darjeeling at 28.2 degree Celsius this Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
A report by the National Climate Centre, IMD, said the mean daily maximum temperature in Darjeeling during the month of September is 20.2 degree Celsius. According to the NCC report Darjeeling had recorded 28.5 degree Celsius on August 21, 1970.
The skies of Darjeeling are bereft of clouds and Mt Kanchenjunga is glistening. However, the high temperature is definitely unsettling. “The present weather condition is because of cloudless sky,” said Raha.
The skies have been cloudless in this region for the past week as the monsoon trough lies south of Darjeeling.
“This is because two low systems were formed in Bay of Bengal recently and there is another strong cyclonic system being formed there,” said Raha. These systems are drawing clouds of the Darjeeling-Sikkim region.
Temperatures across the region are higher than the average by 5 to 7 degree Celsius during the past few days.
“Even the winters are not as cold,” said Pawan Subba, a resident of Darjeeling.
According to the NCC report, the lowest minimum temperature ever recorded in Darjeeling was minus 7.2 degree Celsius on January 30, 1971.
Letter to Bratya
The temperature of Siliguri and the rest of the districts in the plains are hovering around 36 to 38 degrees Celsius, prompting Shankar Ghosh, the BJP MLA of Siliguri, to write to state education minister Bratya Basu, requesting a rescheduling of school hours in north Bengal.
“A heatwave-like situation is prevailing in most parts of north Bengal, and children are facing difficulties in attending schools during regular hours. I have thus urged the minister to reschedule the school hours from 8am to 11am across north Bengal till the Puja vacation,” said Ghosh.
Weather experts forecast rainfall in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar, and Sikkim on Friday.
