What is being discussed in the city more than the civic poll results? The heat. Metro answers your questions on the swelter.

Why is it so unbearably hot?

■ Blame it on the heat and the humidity. On Friday, the minimum temperature was three degrees above normal at 30.3 degrees Celsius, which meant that even between 2.30am and 3am, the mercury did not dip below the 30-degree mark.

The minimum humidity has been hovering in the 60s. On Friday, the minimum was 64 per cent, against the normal of around 45 per cent at this time of the year. High minimum humidity without rain is cruel.

The severe heat wave in pockets of neighbouring Orissa and Jharkhand is adding to the discomfort.

What would bring relief?

■ The monsoon. Pre-monsoon showers normally begin from end-May or early-June and the monsoon arrives by June 7-8. There have been no pre-monsoon showers.

Where is the monsoon now?

■ Having arrived on schedule, the northern limit of monsoon (NLM) has come till Gangtok (see map) and the monsoon flow is active over almost all of Kerala, most parts of Tamil Nadu, all of the Northeast and parts of north Bengal and Sikkim.

When will it come to Calcutta?

■ Fingers crossed for June 7-8, but it could get delayed by a few days.

What is slowing it down?

■ The western end of the NLM is stuck because of the “very severe cyclonic storm” Phet over west-central Arabian Sea. On Friday, Phet was 1,050km west-southwest of Naliya (in Gujarat) and 1,000km southwest of Karachi.

If a strong atmospheric formation has halted the monsoon in the west, in the east it has been impeded by the absence of atmospheric formations over the Bay of Bengal. “A cyclonic circulation over the bay, near the coast, would pull the eastern end of the NLM towards the eastern side of the mainland faster,” said an official of the India Meteorological Department.

What is the monsoon forecast for the coming week?

■ From June 4 to 10, better circulation features with strengthening of the cross-equatorial flow over south Arabian Sea augur well for the monsoon flow.

What is the monsoon forecast for Calcutta?

■ “If the monsoon does arrive in Calcutta by June 10, the city should get around 10 rainy days this month. The amount of rainfall, however, cannot be predicted,” said the IMD official.

The IMD has said the monsoon would be normal. The mean rainfall for June in the city is 259.9mm, with 12.3 rainy days.