The weather office has predicted steady rainfall, including spells of isolated heavy showers, in and around the city over the next few days.

“Thursday saw relatively less rain despite thick cloud cover but the situation will change over the next 48 hours. There is a possibility of isolated heavy rainfall in Gangetic Bengal,” said an official of the Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore.

According to the forecast, rain or thundershower is likely at most places in Bengal. Sub-Himalayan Bengal may see heavy to very heavy showers.

The monsoon by Thursday covered around 97 per cent of the mainland. The surge, after a lull for more than a month, has raised hopes of “healthy rainfall” in July.

Calcutta on Thursday received 0.9mm of rain (in 24 hours till 5.30pm). The maximum temperature was 31.8 degrees Celsius, one point below normal, though the minimum stayed two degrees above normal at 28.

The discomfort index touched 60 degrees Celsius, five points above normal, with the humidity ranging between 69 per cent and 91 per cent.

The forecast for Friday: generally cloudy with spells of rain or thundershower. The temperatures are likely to range between 27 and 31 degrees Celsius.

The power situation in the CESC-served areas has been improving, with the demand falling by nearly 120-150MW since the revival of the monsoon.

“Calcutta and Howrah did not suffer power cuts during the day. The demand at 5pm — 1,340MW — has been fully met,” said a CESC spokesperson. The utility sent out 877MW and imported 463MW to meet the demand.