Kolkata: While Kolkata is likely to continue sweating in 40°C real-feel temperatures until a thunderstorm predicted between Sunday and Monday knocks the mercury down three notches, the Met office declared the onset of a heatwave in south Bengal districts from Thursday to Saturday.
Despite the maximum temperature falling a notch and a half to 35.8°C, and the minimum dipping about a degree to 27.7°C, on Thursday, local heating and the sun’s glare has been keeping the real-feel maximum at 40°C for a week.On Thursday, the state recorded its highest maximum in Panagarh weather station at 39.9°C, followed by 39.8°C in Bankura. Typically, a heatwave is declared in the plains when the maximum touches 40°C for at least two consecutive days.
Kolkata’s maximum is likely to settle between 39°C and 40°C by the weekend, just before the next thunderstorm. “Due to moisture from the Bay of Bengal and a cyclonic circulation developing in Bihar, we can expect a nor’wester with moderate rainfall and winds gusting up to about 40 kmph between Sunday and Monday,” said RMC scientist H R Biswas.