Rain to continue in Kolkata at least for 5 more days, says IMD
Times of India | 4 August 2024
A man with his motorcycle wades through the severely waterlogged Patipukur underpass as a result of heavy downpour, in Kolkata. KOLKATA/SILIGURI: The city and most parts of south Bengal received widespread rain on Saturday even as a threat of flood, triggered by a release of water from DVC and Panchet dams, loomed large.
A depression that has now moved over north Jharkhand and its adjoining areas has been leading to showers across Bihar, Jharkhand and parts of south Bengal adjoining Jharkhand.An upper air east-west trough has taken shape from the centre of the depression to south Assam, triggering further rain across south and north Bengal, said the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Alipore.
Kolkata received intermittent drizzles on Saturday that added up to 26.5 mm between Friday and Saturday evening. The northern fringes of the city, however, received heavy showers. While Dum Dum recorded 100 mm, Salt Lake and Diamond Harbour received 80 mm each. Kolkata is likely to get rain for at least 4-5 days, the Met office said.
The rains have intensified due to the presence of the monsoon trough that now passes through Murshidabad. "It now rests across the northern limit of south Bengal. Due to the combined effect of the monsoon trough and the east-west trough, most parts of Bengal will receive consistent rain over the next four-five days. While the rain is likely to be light to moderate in most areas, some parts of south Bengal may be lashed by thunderstorms," said RMC weather scientist HR Biswas.
The cloud cover and rain pulled the mercury down to 29.2°C on Saturday. The minimum was just four degrees below the maximum at 25.8°C.
In north Bengal, torrential rains since Thursday have paralyzed life and worsened the situation in Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kalimpong. The rains triggered major landslides along NH-10, cutting off the major links to Gangtok and Kalimpong from Siliguri. The weathermen have issued an orange warning for the districts of north Bengal for the next five days.