The monsoon of sweat and no rain is getting under the skin of Calcuttans in more ways than one with little sign of relief over the next 48 hours except for a stray thundershower or two like the one late on Wednesday.

Nine-year-old Sagarika Mullick broke out in rashes at school on sultry Wednesday, prompting her teachers to send an SOS to her Thakurpukur-based parents. Her father soon arrived to take her to a doctor, who diagnosed the skin infection urticaria.

The culprit? “The doctor told us it’s because of excessive heat and humidity. Her face had swelled up with crimson rashes all over. We were so scared,” the Class IV student’s mother Jayshree told Metro.

If Monday and Tuesday had a hint of a breeze providing a breather from the heat, Day 4 of the monsoon that had hit town with heavy showers on Sunday saw the discomfort index soaring to 12.5 degrees above normal. The maximum temperature was also high at 37.8 degrees, four notches above normal.

So what did the weather office have to say about the “active” monsoon failing to fulfil its promise of rain after its first-day-first-show?

“High humidity is a feature of the monsoon, but the absence of rain and a high Celsius reading have raised the discomfort level. The weather is likely to stay this way for another 24 to 48 hours,” said Gokul Chandra Debnath, the director of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore.

On Wednesday, humidity ranged between 58 and 94 per cent. “Had there been even a little bit of rain during the day, it would have nullified the impact of the humidity and also kept the Celsius in check,” said the weatherman.

According to satellite pictures, a cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal has arrested the monsoon flow over south Bengal. Weather scientists, however, expect the circulation to wane over the next two days.

“Once that patch weakens, the monsoon flow will again become active over south Bengal. We can expect rain and better weather from then on,” Debnath said, holding out hope for the weekend.

An official of the India Meteorological Department insisted that this monsoon could yet better the June average for rain in Calcutta.

Last June had witnessed freak weather with the city receiving a mere 98.1mm of rain against the normal average of 259.9mm despite the monsoon arriving earlier than usual, riding on Aila.

With just five days of showers, including pre-monsoon downpours, the city has received a total of 83.2mm of rain so far this month.