The Celsius soared to 39.6 degrees in Calcutta on Friday, the season’s highest so far, before a spell of rain and winds brought temporary relief in the evening.
Before Friday, May 6 was the hottest day in Calcutta this season with the Celsius clocking 37.9 degrees.
The weatherman said the next few days would remain hot and sultry with slim chances of thundershowers. On Friday, rain started around 7.40pm. Joka received 24.38mm of rainfall, Ballygunge 12.7mm and New Market 6.6mm, according to the Calcutta Municipal Corporation. The rain was accompanied by gusty winds and lightning. The highest windspeed recorded was 45kmph at 7.25pm, the Met office said.
The thunderstorm brought the temperature down and provided relief to Calcuttans .
Thunderclouds that formed over Jharkhand arrived in south Bengal in the evening and triggered the rain. The spell was brief but pulled the temperature down several notches to 29 degrees.
But before that on Friday, the maximum temperature went up three notches from Thursday. The minimum relative humiditywas 62 per cent, up seven notches from Thursday. The weatherman attributed the rise in heat and humidity to two factors.
“Hot Northwesterly winds from the plains of north and central India blew into the city. Moist Southwesterly winds from the Bay of Bengal also flew in generously. The two together pushed up the heat and humidity levels, making it uncomfortable for people,” said Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, deputy director general, India Meteorological Department, Calcutta.
The monsoon is still some distance away from south Bengal but moisture incursion is gradually picking up steam.
“The monsoon is over parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam where it went via Tripura. It is expected to reach north Bengal in the next 2-3 days,” said a Met official.
For the next couple of days, the forecast is grim. Maximum temperature is likely to remain two notches above normal over Calcutta and the two Parganas. The western districts of Purulia, Bankura, East and West Burdwan, West Midnapore and Jhargram are likely to be under the grip of a heatwave, the Met office said.
