The expressions of the youngsters after being caught in the Wednesday afternoon showers at Esplanade sum up the mood of a large part of the city following the month’s first downpour, which brought a much-needed relief from the past several days’ swelter. The Met office said more such spells were likely over the next two days, though the weather would continue to be hot and humid.

Wednesday’s heaviest showers were reported from central and south Calcutta, where the rainfall started around 4pm and continued for over half an hour. Parts of north Calcutta, Dum Dum and Ultadanga did not get any rain. At the height of the downpour, cars and buses were seen plying with their headlights on.

The Calcutta Municipal Corporation’s drainage pumping stations in Ballygunge and Alipore recorded 10.16mm and 7.37mm of rain, respectively.

“Calcutta got pre-monsoon showers on Wednesday afternoon. A characteristic of such a spell is that it’s very local. Once the monsoon arrives, the rainfall will be more widespread,” said Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, deputy director general, India Meteorological Department, Calcutta.

The monsoon winds have covered the north-east and are expected to reach north Bengal in a day or two. “Only after the northern limit of the monsoon reaches north Bengal will we be able to say when it will arrive in Calcutta,” Bandyopadhyay said.

The normal date of the monsoon’s arrival in the city is June 8 but in the past three years the onset had been delayed by around 10 days.

Meteorologists, however, believe the delay won’t be much this year. 

“A well-marked low pressure area over the Arabian Sea is moving away from the Indian landmass. With the system gradually weakening, the monsoon winds should get a boost in a couple of days,” an official of the India Meteorological Department, Delhi, said. 

Pictures by Pradip Sanyal