Cloud on chill

A cyclone near the Tamil Nadu coast is pushing the mercury up in Calcutta.

The situation is likely to continue till Saturday, with the Met office predicting that the minimum temperature would be around 20 degrees Celsius.

The cyclone, christened Nada, is likely to crash into the Tamil Nadu coast early on Friday. The storm is unlikely to cause rain in Bengal but would push loads of moisture into south Bengal, blocking cold wind from the north and robbing the city of chill in the beginning of December.

Calcutta’s minimum temperature on Wednesday was 19.6 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal. The temperature was the highest in 15 days.

Meteorologists said the cyclone led to a change in the wind direction in the city and blocked the cold wind from north-west, leading to a rise in the night temperature.

“North-westerly winds ferry chill to Calcutta. Such winds were active in the city till the weekend. But as the cyclone started forming over the south Bay of Bengal, an easterly wind started blowing into the city. The wind is carrying moisture into the city,” said G.K. Das, director, India Meteorological Department, Calcutta.

The minimum temperature in Calcutta had fallen to 16.9 degrees Celsius on November 17, two degrees below normal.
According to the forecast, the minimum temperature would climb to 20 degrees Celsius on Thursday and stay around the same mark at least till Saturday, when the cyclone is likely to dissipate.