Aspell of rain is expected to follow the prolonged heat wave that has affected Kolkata and the rest of West Bengal, the MET office said on Thursday. “In south Bengal, including Kolkata, the showers are most likely on 23 and 24 April,” said Sanjib Banerjee, deputy director-general of the India Meteorological Department, Kolkata.
On 22 April, it may also rain in the South 24-Parganas and East Midnapore coastal districts. It seems the hills, where the rain began on Wednesday, will continue to receive rainfall until 25 April. The meteorological scales in West Bengal are being swayed by an extra-tropical storm that originates in the Mediterranean and frequently brings rain and snow to India throughout the winter.
Eastern India is being affected by a western disturbance. As an impact, Darjeeling received hail storms on Wednesday. The phenomenon is predicted to bring rain to south Bengal in the upcoming days, said the Met office. The protracted heat wave is primarily caused by the dominance of dry northwesterly winds and the absence of moist southerly breezes from the bay, according to Met authorities.
West Bengal often has dry northwesterly breezes during this time of year, although not all day long. As dusk falls, southerly breezes from the bay begin to move towards the shore, carrying moisture. Thunderstorms thrive in these favourable weather circumstances brought on by temperatures and southerly breezes.
The heat wave is predicted to continue for another 24 to 48 hours in south Bengal and a few areas of north Bengal. In the past 48 hours, Alipore had the maximum temperature of 40.7 degrees, according to the Met office. At 41.5 and 41.7 degrees, Salt Lake and Dum Dum were scorching.
With a high temperature of 44.3 degrees, Bankura remained Bengal’s hottest district. As many as two persons were brought to a private hospital this week after suffering from heatstroke, which has been said to be on the rise in Kolkata over the previous two weeks due to the sweltering heat.