Afternoon shower spells leave central, south Kol waterlogged
Times of India | 8 July 2024
12 Kolkata: The city was lashed by repeated spells of drizzle on Sunday morning, followed by a more intense spell in the afternoon, which led to waterlogging in parts of central and south Kolkata. While Kolkata received 12.9 mm rain during the day after a dry Saturday, between Monday and Tuesday, Kolkata had got 32.7 mm rain. Kolkata clocked a maximum temperature of 33.7°C on Sunday while the minimum was 27.7°C.
The monsoon trough passed through Jharkhand and Contai on Sunday, triggering moderate to heavy showers along the belt, including in most districts of south Bengal.“It is likely to slide south towards Odisha on Monday. As a result, the intensity of rain will go down across south Bengal. Kolkata and the adjoining districts will continue to receive light rain, though,” said H R Biswas, scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Alipore.
A sharp shower left Camac Street, Chittaranjan Avenue, Amherst Street and Sukeas Street waterlogged for a couple of hours on Sunday. The water receded by late afternoon. While the rain could be scantier in south Bengal over the next 48 hours, the monsoon trough could slide up again, leading to renewed heavier spells, said Biswas.
While south and central Kolkata received a more intense spell, most parts of north Kolkata received sporadic drizzles on Sunday. While Ballygunge received 108 mm rain between 1 pm and 3 pm, Topsia received 66 mm and Chingrighata got 36 mm. Maniktala recorded 32 mm rain during the same period.
The monsoon currents were very weak when they reached Kolkata last month. They subsequently strengthened, leading to the formation of an east-west trough from northwest UP to the centre of a low-pressure area across a cyclonic circulation over east UP and Jharkhand. This system, coupled with the stronger monsoon currents, triggered consistent rain. “While the system no longer exists, we now have the monsoon trough in south Bengal that has led to more frequent rain, though the showers have not been very intense,” said Biswas.