Met predicts cooler nights, Kolkata may be spared rain

KOLKATA: Mercury plunged three notches on Monday from the previous day when the city recorded a minimum temperature of 16.2 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature slipped two degrees below the normal mark to 23.6 degrees. The Met office expects a further dip in night temperature and despite a light rain alert for some coastal districts, Kolkata is likely to escape the winter rain spell.
The minimum temperature increased to 19.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday, five notches above normal, and maximum to 26.2 degrees Celsius, two degrees above normal. The Met office has predicted the maximum and minimum temperature to hover around 24 degrees and 14 degrees Celsius in the next three to four days.
“The chill-bearing northwesterly is not reaching the city directly. Till the wind system starts coming in again, the dip in mercury will not be very sharp,” said GK Das director (weather) at Regional Meteorological Centre Kolkata.A high pressure area over the Bay of Bengal is currently injecting moisture into the land. Coupled with a likely formation on a trough extending from Odisha to West Bengal, coastal areas like East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas might get light rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. “The chances of rain in Kolkata are less,” said Das.