Weekend likely to remain dry in Kolkata

KOLKATA: Three weeks after the onset of monsoon, Kolkata recorded its highest temperature of the year so far on Thursday with the mercury touching 37.8°C. Even though it slid 3°C on Friday to settle at 34.8°C, it will continue to remain warm and humid till the rains return to Gangetic Bengal. But weathermen predicted the possibility of consistent showers were low over the next 48 hours though the monsoon trough — that has been stuck over north Bengal — has started sliding southward.
“With little rain over the last 3-4 days, heat was generated across south Bengal and Kolkata. This pushed the maximum temperature up. But with the monsoon trough sliding down, there was scattered rain in and around Kolkata on Friday. It helped to keep the mercury down though we still expect it to hover around 35°C-36°C now,” said Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) director GK Das. He added that heavy showers will not lash Kolkata and Gangetic Bengal till a potent system forms over Bay of Bengal.
“Monsoon rain and currents in this region are driven by low-pressure troughs over the sea. There have been none so far since the onset of monsoon. The more dry days we have, the higher the temperature is likely to be,” added Das.
Kolkata has received 190.2mm rain between the arrival of monsoon on June 12 and June 26. This is nearly double of what the city received in June 2019, which was the driest in a decade.