Citizens of Kolkata spent a chilly morning as the mercury plunged to 11.8 degrees Celsius today. After experiencing the coldest day of the season, today, the mercury is expected to dip further tomorrow bringing light rainfall in Kolkata.

The lowest temperature that dipped lower than yesterday by a few notches made Kolkatans spend a shivering holiday today forced to remain indoors in the icy cold weather. At 11.8 degree Celsius, the city recorded two degrees lower than the normal temperature generally prevailing in Kolkata during this time of the year.

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According to the Regional Meteorological Centre, the minimum temperature could further dip tomorrow. Like the lowest temperature, the maximum recorded temperature also is giving the city a biting chill. The highest recorded temperature has remained six degrees below normal since last Saturday making the Kolkatans shiver with cold.

According to weather scientists, the prevailing intense cold in Kolkata and other districts has been triggered due to the wind discontinuity over Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh area. The discontinuity, as explained by the weather scientists, is because of the northwesterly winds from the northern parts and southernly components from Bay of Bengal with moisture incursion.

As tipped by the wea ther department officials, the cold weather would become colder tomorrow with night temperatures dipping further. The weatherman has also issued a forecast of rainfall in various districts of south Bengal tomorrow. According to the RMC, districts like Jhargram, South 24-Parganas, East Midnapore and West Midnapore are anticipated to get light to moderate rainfall tomorrow. “From 25 January, mercury could rise by a few notches,” informed a weather department official.

“The lowest temperature could go up by a few notches. Even if the maximum temperature rises by two to three degrees, it is expected to remain below the normal,” added the official. The weather scientists are anticipating the erratic weather conditions to prevail for a few more days. The weather in the region could become more or less steady towards the end of the month.