Melting pot: At 43°C, Kolkata's max temperature nears all-time high
Times of India | 1 May 2024
KOLKATA: The mercury shot up to an unbearable 43°C in the city on Tuesday - the second highest April temperature recorded in Kolkata in 70 years (since 1954), the eighth highest maximum temperature in the Alipore Met office's recorded history, and less than a degree from the all-time record of 43.9°C recorded almost a century ago. Tuesday's maximum was also the second time ever that Kolkata's April temperature touched the 43°C mark.
With a prolonged heatwave and heatwave-like conditions over large parts of south Bengal since April 19, Kolkata was certainly not the only place in the state where it felt like the inside of an oven. Kalaikunda in West Midnapore recorded a high of 47.2°C (possibly the highest in the country), Panagarh in West Burdwan recorded a day's high of 45.6°C, and Midnapore recorded 45.5°C; closer to Kolkata, Salt Lake saw 43.5°C, Barrackpore 44.5°C and Dum Dum 43°C.
Even as Kolkata entered the 'severe heatwave' category on Tuesday, with the mercury 7.4 notches above the normal, the weatherman held out little hope of immediate relief. There could be some rain in parts of south Bengal only on May 5 (Sunday) and throughout the state on May 6 (Monday), said H R Biswas, head of the weather section at Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Kolkata. "It could be a Nor'wester, which would bring some relief from the heat," he added.