Monsoon gone, the signs of the onset of winter are visible in Calcutta.

A significant dip in the Celsius is, however, still some time away, said Met officials.

Clear skies and bright sunshine greeted Calcuttans for the fifth consecutive day, with the moisture level going down.

The sky will turn partly cloudy over the weekend, but it will be a temporary phase, said Met officials.

“Partly cloudy sky with possibility of development of thunder/lightning,” reads the forecast for Saturday and Sunday.

Coastal areas are likely to get rain. A possibility of rain in the city is not ruled out, said a Met official.

On Monday, the southwest monsoon retreated from Bengal. The minimum relative humidity — a measure of humidity in the atmosphere during the driest part of the day — was around 40% on Wednesday. On Tuesday, it was around 50%.

Exactly a week ago, when the city was in the midst of a relentless wet spell, the minimum relative humidity was around 75%.

The humidity level will drop further in the coming days, a Met official said.

Apart from three to four rainless days, a dip in the moisture content is considered a prerequisite to announcing the retreat of the monsoon. A reversal in the flow of winds is the most important marker. Cold and dry winds from the northwestern parts of India replace the moisture-laden winds from the Bay.

“Northerly and northwesterly winds are entering Bengal. But their bite will be more pronounced once the temperature drops significantly in places like Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand,” said the official.

The maximum temperature on Wednesday was around 32 degrees, and the minimum was around 24 degrees. Both were about normal for this time of the year. The day was hot but bearable. The evening was pleasant. Dry weather is the forecast for the state for the next couple of days before the sky turns partly cloudy this weekend.

The Met office has predicted a marginal rise in the temperature on Saturday and Sunday.

A Met bulletin issued on Wednesday afternoon said that conditions were favourable for further withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from the remaining parts of the country in the next 24 hours.