Kolkata: Another low pressure likely by July 31

KOLKATA: Even as the low pressure anticipated by the Met office was formed by Friday morning, the city received scattered rain. Met officials said that the system was not strong and could not trigger widespread rain. However, the officials have not ruled out the chance for a few spells of showers on Saturday and Sunday.

The cloud cover and light scattered rain forced the mercury to retreat below the normal mark, for the first time this month.
“We are expecting a few more spells of showers or moderate rain—between 20 to 30mm— in the city on the next two days,” said GK Das, director (weather), Regional Meteorological Centre Kolkata.
A cyclonic circulation over Bangladesh had intensified into low pressure over coastal Bengal by Friday morning. Though heavy rain was expected in the city, only a few pockets like central Kolkata received moderate rain. Most parts of the city had light and erratic showers.
“Most of the convection happened over the districts like Midnapore, Jhargram and Bankura. Therefore, most of the rain was concentrated over these districts. It has pushed down the rain deficit for south Bengal districts to 50%,” added Das. The rain deficit for overall south Bengal district on Thursday was 54%.
The overcast sky and light rain, however, dragged the mercury down the normal mark, for the first time in this month. At 31.1°C the maximum temperature on Friday was a notch below the normal. In the absence of rain the mercury had shot up to 37.7°C on July 15, making it the hottest day in July in a decade. On Thursday, the maximum temperature was 33.3°C— one degree up the normal.
The Met office is also keeping a close tab on another low pressure system expected to develop over the Bay of Bengal by July 31. It is likely to bring in more rain and keep the mercury under check.
“Even if it does not rain heavily, we expect normal monsoon activity at least for the next one week,” said Das.