The monsoon is expected to arrive in Calcutta and the rest of south Bengal by next week.

“The morning shower on Friday indicated that the monsoon is on its way and it will reach the city by next week,” G.C. Debnath, director of the weather section at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Alipore, said on Friday.

The city received 11.8 mm of rain till 5.30pm on Friday. “These are pre-monsoon showers,” said Debnath. “We are expecting light to moderate rain in Calcutta and its adjoining areas on Saturday, too.”

The monsoon current that had been hovering over the southern part of the country since May 29 entered the Northeast on Friday. It is expected to cover some parts of north Bengal in the next two or three days.

Met officials said a trough of low pressure over sub-Himalayan Bengal and Assam is sucking in moisture from the Bay of Bengal.

“It is also dragging the monsoon current to the northeastern and eastern parts of the country,” said an official.