October has entered its second week, but the city is still seeing monsoon-like conditions, with persistent showers and overcast skies making it feel more like peak monsoon in July or August.
On Wednesday, a brief spell of morning sunshine gave way to consistent cloud cover and multiple rounds of light rain. Though not heavy, the rainfall was steady, leading to waterlogged streets, slushy sidewalks, and prolonged traffic snarls. A 9km taxi ride from Taratala to Esplanade took nearly an hour — almost double the usual time.
The gloomy weather has sparked concerns among firecracker traders ahead of Diwali. “If the rain does not abate, the manufacturing process will take a hit,” said a trader in Janbazar, Taltala.
Diwali is on October 20.
Between Tuesday evening and Wednesday evening, the Alipore Met office recorded around 18mm of rain. The persistent cloud cover brought down the temperature, with Wednesday’s maximum settling at 29.4°C, over three degrees below normal for this time of year.
According to the Met office, the rain and clouds are linked to a system over Bangladesh. “The upper-air cyclonic circulation over south Bangladesh and neighbourhood persists and now extends up to 0.9km above mean sea level,” said a Met report.
Another cyclonic circulation is likely to form over the north Bay of Bengal on October 10, though it is unlikely to significantly impact Calcutta, said a Met official.
Despite a forecast of sunnier skies on Thursday, light to moderate showers remain likely over the next two to three days. If there’s enough daytime heating, a thunderstorm is expected on Friday.
A separate upper-air cyclonic circulation over the southwest Bay of Bengal, off the Tamil Nadu coast, has weakened. A related trough extending to coastal Karnataka at 3.1km above mean sea level has also become less marked, the Met office said.
The retreat of the southwest monsoon has begun across parts of India, but the withdrawal line remains far from eastern India, keeping the Bay of Bengal monsoon currents active. The monsoon, which advances east to west, retreats in the reverse direction — west to east.
Southwest monsoon willbe gone from Gujarat and parts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra by the next three days,a Met bulletin said onWednesday.
“There is no heavy rain warning for Bengal. But thunderstorms are likely, especially in south Bengal,” said a Met official.
Calcutta’s forecast: “Thunderstorm with rain. Maximum and minimum temperatures most likely to be around 32°C and 26°C respectively.”