Mercury to dip next week again, forecasts Met

KOLKATA: The minimum temperature on Thursday climbed a notch above the normal mark, making Kolkatans wonder if winter had bid the city adieu. Weathermen, however, expect the mercury to dip below the normal mark again by the middle of next week. In the interim, both the maximum and minimum temperatures will stay above the normal mark.

The minimum temperature at 15.1°C on Thursday was one degree above the normal mark, while the maximum temperature at 29.7°C was three notches above normal. Weather men attributed it to a western disturbance over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. This weather system is an extratropical storm that originates in the Mediterranean region, bringing in sudden winter rain or snowfall in north-western India.

While this weather system has caused heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, it has blocked the path of the cold and dry North-westerly wind that brings the chill in the city. “We expect the mercury to be above the normal mark for the next two to three days. But there are high chances that it may dip below the normal mark again by midweek,” said GK Das director (weather) at Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.

At present, the city is experiencing the Easterly wind that injects moisture from the Bay of Bengal, pushing up the mercury.