Snow in Darjeeling town in February 2007

Jan. 9: Don’t put away your warm clothes just yet. A severe cold spell is expected to grip north Bengal, especially the Darjeeling hills, after this weekend.

The news will raise the hopes of residents and tourists who continue to dream of snowfall in Darjeeling hills in February.

The director of the meteorological office in Jalpaiguri, T.K. Chakraborty, today said a western disturbance currently passing over the northern parts of the country is expected to hit Darjeeling and Sikkim by January 13.

Chakraborty also warned of fog that might reduce visibility to less than 500m at a few places in sub-Himalayan Bengal in the next 48 hours.

The official explained that during this time of the year, low pressure belts form in north-western India and suck in moisture from the Mediterranean Sea. This phenomenon, known as western disturbance, gradually shifts from west to east.

“The western disturbance is advancing towards the Darjeeling and Sikkim hills and is expected to arrive by Monday. After it passes, the hills and the neighbouring districts in north Bengal are expected to experience a severe cold spell. There is also the possibility of rains in the hills around that time,” said Chakraborty.

Subir Sarkar, the head of North Bengal University’s weather monitoring centre, concurred with Chakraborty.

After Sunday, he said, the maximum temperature in Siliguri will possibly go down to 25 degrees Celsius and the minimum to 4 degrees Celsius. “I am not giving up hope of snowfall in Darjeeling in mid-February.”

The maximum temperature recorded in Siliguri today was 26.5 degrees Celsius, while the minimum was 10 degrees Celsius — both about 3 degrees above normal.

Met officials said the progress of the western disturbance towards eastern India is a little slow this time because of a high-pressure belt over central India.

“Usually, by this time, at least two western disturbances turn up in the region,” said Sarkar.

While north Bengal sweats in the sun, the effect of the western disturbance can already be seen in the western Himalayan region where widespread snowfall was reported over the past 24 hours. There were scattered rain and thundershowers over the plains of north-west India.

In Siliguri, on the other hand, lots of people were seen without warm clothes during the day. “It’s not necessary. One only needs some protection after the sun goes down,” said Anil Nag, a trader on Hill Cart Road. “It is January 9, and still the winter hasn’t properly arrived.” Nag wondered whether all this was because of global warming.

In Darjeeling, clear blue skies greeted tourists who had come to the hill town to enjoy the winter chill. At 5.45pm today, the temperature board at Chowrastha read 8 degrees Celsius. However, the tourists could take solace from the clear view of the glistening peak of Mt Kanchenjunga, a rare sight at this time of the year.