KOLKATA: The cold spell that Kolkatans have enjoyed so far may disappear soon. The Met officials have predicted that the mercury will start rising from Wednesday. By the weekend, both the day and might temperature can reach slightly above the normal mark, bringing an end to the long cold spell this winter.
“The temperature will rise from Wednesday onwards. We expect the mercury to hover between 14 and 15 degrees in the next two days. By the weekend, the mercury may touch the 17°C-18°C-mark. Till Thursday, mornings could still be cold, but the weather may not be so pleasant during the day time,” said G K Das, director (weather) at Regional Meteorological Centre Kolkata.
From 15.1°C on Monday, the minimum temperature dipped to 13.2°C, three notches below normal. Now the northwesterly wind that brings in the chill is slowly losing its pace. Even though Kolkatans can still get the winter feeling in the morning, the maximum temperature can shoot up by a degree above the normal mark by Wednesday, thus resulting in the disappearance of the chill during the day time.
“Till Tuesday, the northwesterly wind was coming at a good speed but it is gradually losing its pace and this wind system will be replaced by the moist-laden hot westerly wind in the next few days. As we are heading towards mid-February, the mercury is expected to rise in our region,” said Das.