The minimum temperature dropped to 15.6° Celsius in the city on Thursday, making it the coldest day of the season so far. Cold and dry northwesterly winds swept into south Bengal, keeping the maximum at 25.7° — nearly two-and-a-half degrees below normal. Friday is expected to be colder.
In Dum Dum, north of the city, the mercury fell to 15.1°. The districts recorded lower readings: Sriniketan in Birbhum was the coldest in south Bengal at 10.8°, while Purulia and Bankura recorded 12.4° and 12.9°, respectively.
A Met official said: “Dry weather is likely to persist for the next seven days... The feeling of chill will be there across the state.”
The northwesterly winds, which made early inroads this year, were disrupted by two successive cyclones in the north Indian Ocean, including Cyclone Ditwah, which caused a brief warm spell. With the systems gone, the winds are now flowing freely again, bringing the chill back to south Bengal, the official said.
On Thursday morning, children wrapped in woollens headed to schools, and regular morning walkers added extra layers. Even in the afternoon, jackets and jumpers were common. Strong winds kept daytime temperatures from rising steeply.
The official said: “For any significant slide in the Celsius in Calcutta, temperatures have to drop in Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi, UP, Bihar... That condition is being met now.”
On Thursday, Srinagar recorded a minimum of -4°, Chandigarh 6.3°, Lucknow 9.1°, and Gaya 11.5°.