Min plunges to 12.8°C, season’s lowest, but temp may rise today
Times of India | 16 December 2024
Kolkata: The city shivered in the early winter chill as the minimum temperature plunged to 12.8°C on Sunday, making it the season's coldest day so far. The temperature, three degrees below normal, was two notches lower than the minimum recorded on the same day last year and the lowest recorded on Dec 15 since at least 2014. The mercury, however, could slide up marginally on Monday under the impact of twin weather systems — one over the Bay of Bengal and the other over north India.
Sunday's minimum was the lowest recorded in the first fortnight of Dec since 2014 when 13.8°C was recorded on Dec 12.
"This was the culmination of the current spell of northwesterly flowing in without obstruction. It made the mercury drop. But it will be partially halted on Monday by the twin systems. Other factors, like a change in wind pattern, will also make the mercury shoot up by one to two degrees," said Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) weather scientist H R Biswas.
In 2022 and 2023, the lowest temperatures for the month were recorded on Dec 17 — when the minimum was 13.7°C and 13.2°C respectively. A low-pressure area is set to form over the Bay of Bengal while a western disturbance over north India has taken shape.
"There will be no southerly wind, but these systems will interrupt the flow of the northwesterly that has been bringing in the early chill. It was dry and cold and was flowing in at a fair pace so far. This is the primary reason behind the early temperature drop," Biswas said.
The systems, however, will not be strong enough to bring rain in Bengal at least for the next five to six days. While the slide is set to be broken for the next two to three days, the mercury will drop yet again, following the normal wind cycle.
On Dec 15, 2023, Kolkata recorded a minimum of 14.7°C. It was higher on the same day in 2022 — 16.3°C. The early mercury drop was precipitated by the wind pattern, said a weather scientist.
"Weather systems, like the western disturbance, were not coming in the way of the northwesterly so far. This is one of the reasons behind the early chill. Since the mercury starts dropping during the second half of Dec in Kolkata, we can expect a further slide," said a weather scientist.
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