West Bengal is likely to see a rise of two to three degrees Celsius in minimum temperature over the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday. The weather office also indicated that no major change is expected in the three days that follow.
On Thursday, most places in the plains recorded minimum temperatures between 12°C and 16°C. The north Bengal Himalayan towns were colder, with Darjeeling touching 8.8°C and Kalimpong recording 11°C.
In the plains, Purulia was the coldest at 12°C, followed by Sriniketan at 12.1°C. Other places that recorded low temperatures included Alipurduar (13°C), Bankura (13.1°C), Kalyani (13.5°C) and Bardhaman (14°C). Kolkata registered a minimum of 16.4°C, which was a notch below normal.
The IMD also forecast morning mist over Kolkata and predicted that the minimum temperature in the city would be around 17°C on Friday.
Earlier this week, the city had recorded its lowest temperature of the season at 16.4°C on Tuesday. The Met office had said that Wednesday “could be colder”, linking the slide to the free flow of dry and cold northwesterly winds from the upper reaches of India.
According to officials, the chill is likely to continue for the next few days, though a slight rise may follow because “two systems are at play in the deep sea.”
A depression is located over the Strait of Malacca near Sumatra, around 870 km from the Nicobar Islands, and another low-pressure area persists over the southwest Bay of Bengal off Sri Lanka. Both are expected to intensify. However, Met officials said their movement near the Indian coastline is still uncertain.
Until Monday, the weather office had indicated that the system over the Strait of Malacca could form into a cyclone later in the week. A bulletin issued on Tuesday said: “It is very likely to move west-northwestwards slowly and intensify further during the next 48 hours.”
A Met official added, “It is extremely unlikely that either of the systems will head towards Bengal. But these are large systems. Even if they do not head towards the Bengal coast, the twin systems can cause changes in the wind pattern that can cause a marginal rise in the temperature.”
The IMD has forecast dry weather in Bengal for the next seven days.
The cold northwesterly winds strengthened across the state on Tuesday. While Kolkata experienced a mild chill, the districts remained colder. In south Bengal, Sriniketan in Birbhum recorded the lowest minimum temperature at 12.2°C. The cold winds also pushed down day temperatures, with Alipore logging a maximum of 26.3°C, which is three degrees below the usual for late November.