Rain gods might come calling to the city this Sunday and Monday with pre-monsoon shower, giving respite to citizens from the prickly heat for a couple of days.

The last spell of pre-monsoon rain in the city was on April 22. After almost 20 days, there is a glimmer of hope for precipitation — the first time this month — on Sunday because of a low-pressure belt over Bay of Bengal, moving in the northeast direction.

Ashish Sen, the director of India Meteorological Department, Patna, told The Telegraph on Friday: “We are expecting precipitation because of a strong cyclonic disturbance in the Bay of Bengal. This low-pressure belt is moving in the northeast direction and is expected snowball into a depression,” said Sen.

Highlighting the impact of the expected rainfall on the city, Sen said: “The rain is expected to bring down the maximum temperature from the prevailing 40°C to around 35°C by Monday. The temperature would start shooting up again from Wednesday.”

The Met department claimed that there would be significant rainfall in eastern Bihar next Sunday and Monday. The western and the central Bihar regions are likely to receive light pre-monsoon rainfall.

The rainfall in March, April and May is termed as pre-monsoon rainfall. The volume of the pre-monsoon rainfall in the city this year till date is almost identical to what it was in the previous year. It stood at 14.7mm till Thursday in comparison to last year’s 14.3mm during the same period. The normal pre-monsoon rainfall during this period is 19mm.

Weathermen claimed that the present status of the pre-monsoon rainfall was not scanty. Sen said: “The frequency of pre-monsoon rainfall at a place determines whether it is sufficient or scanty. It occurred in the city seven times till May 9, which can be termed as fair in terms of frequency.”

Of the seven pre-monsoon rain spells, four were Nor’westers. Agriculture experts claimed that rainfall during this time of the year is crucial for cultivation. “Rainfall around mid-May ensures timely growth of crops like maize, jute, sugarcane and paddy among others,” said Anil Jha, an agriculture expert.