KOLKATA: Cloud cover over Kolkata on Wednesday - the rainiest day of January so far- pushed up the minimum temperature up by 4.5°C.
After the morning rain spell around 1.30 am, after the city recorded the season's lowest minimum on Tuesday, the rise in temperature on Wednesday was hardly noticeable on account of the dark clouds, fog and evening rain.
From 11.8°C on Tuesday, the minimum jumped to 16.3°C - making it one of the highest single-day temperature spikes this season."Although the early morning rainfall was only in traces, it was brought by moisture from the Bay of Bengal, accompanied by warm easterly winds. They, in turn, spiked the minimum temperature," said Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) director G K Das.
Thick grey clouds remained over the Kolkata skyline for much of the day before erupting into a downpour in the evening, with the biggest splash felt in south Kolkata and Salt Lake. While the previous shower, a 2 mm spell on Thursday, narrowed the gap between the maximum and minimum temperatures to 3°C, Wednesday's shower reduced the gap to about 7°C from the almost 10°C gap the previous day.
From the middle of Dec to the second week of Jan, both the maximum and minimum temperatures remained unusually stable and consistent for Kolkata winters, which Das attributed to the frequent formation of weak western disturbances. From the second half of Jan, temperatures have started to see-saw, with a jump of several notches in either the maximum or minimum, or both. According to the Met office, the minimum temperature may dip two-three notches by Friday before increasing from Jan 27. While Thursday is likely to get some fog and cloudy skies like Wednesday, the rest of the week is likely to remain partly cloudy.
Wednesday's prolonged light showers may have been the last rain event of this month. Before picking up speed by the evening, only traces were seen in the Alipore weather office, placing this month's rain count significantly lower than the normal count of 13.8 mm. In recent years, the largest volume of Jan rain was in 2020, at almost 33 mm.
On Thursday, the maximum temperature may fall from 22.8°C to 21°C while the minimum may dip to 14°C. There is also a small chance of rain on Thursday.
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