The Celsius slid to 14.7 degrees in Calcutta on Saturday morning, the lowest in three weeks.
After a prolonged warm spell, winter, in its last lap in the city, has finally lived up to expectations.
The cold and dry winds had started making their presence felt since the early hours of Thursday.
The minimum temperature is likely to stay in the 15-degree range for the next couple of days before starting to rise again, according to the Met forecast.
Many Kolkatans who had packed their woollens, because of the warm phase since mid-January, had to bring them out again.
“The morning was chilly. I needed two layers of warm clothes on a bike,” said Chandan Rakshit, who went to Bowbazar for a Chinese breakfast on Saturday with a friend.
As the day progressed, winter revellers started pouring out, flocking to parks and museums. Places like the Victoria Memorial, the Alipore zoo and Nicco Park were crowded throughout the day.
Around 12.30pm, traffic was crawling on Salt Lake bypass near Nicco Park, mainly because of the number of vehicles headed to the amusement park.
Around 2pm, a snaking queue outside the Victoria Memorial indicated had around 100 people waiting to get in. Many more were on their way.
Saturday was the first time the minimum temperature went below 15 degrees since January 13, when it had slid to 14.5 degrees. But the very next day, it had shot up to 19.7 degrees, making January 14 the warmest Makar Sankranti in Kolkata in 53 years.
A persistent high-pressure zone over the Bay and a western disturbance over northwest India led to a long spell of above-normal temperatures in Kolkata.
On February 1, the minimum temperature shot up to 19.9 degrees, compared to the usual of around 15 degrees.
The high-pressure zone dissipated three days ago, paving the way for the comeback of the chill.
A Met official said the Celsius will start climbing gradually from next week. The hint of chill will be there during the night, he said.
“An anticyclonic circulation is likely to take shape off the Odisha coast. Moisture-laden winds from the Bay will go to the Odisha coast and then rise north to reach the Bengal coast. The northwesterly winds will become weaker and the Celsius will go up. Both the day and night temperature will go up a couple of notches,” he said
