2025 starts with 3°C drop but chill may not last long
Times of India | 2 January 2025
12 Kolkata: The mercury dropped by three degrees on Wednesday, recording a minimum temperature of 14.2 degrees Celsius, down from 17.3 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. The chilly start to the new year is, however, unlikely to last long as the Met office predicts a rise in temperature by the weekend.
While 14.2 degrees Celsius was on the normal mark, the three-degree drop in one go, along with the chill-bearing northwesterly wind, made a difference. The maximum temperature at 22.8 degrees Celsius during the day added to the cold zing. But the Met office does not expect further significant dip in mercury. "We do not expect much change in the temperature for now. But a western disturbance is likely to impact the northwestern regions by Saturday following which the mercury will start rising. We can expect the temperature to drop only after this system passes," said H R Biswas, head of the weather section at Regional Meteorological Centre Kolkata.
The dry northwesterly wind brings chill into this region from the northern region. But whenever a western disturbance develops, it blocks the path of the northwesterly winds, paving the way for the moist-and-warm easterly wind system that injects moisture into land from the Bay of Bengal, pushing up temperature.
With the mercury plunging below 14°C within the first fortnight of Dec, it was an early onset of winter. The minimum temperature dipped to 13.8°C on Dec 12, the second time the mercury slid below 14°C in the first two weeks of Dec in 11 years, the other instance being in 2014. The minimum temperature further slipped to 12.5°C on Dec 15, the season's lowest so far. Despite the early onset of winter, the chill disappeared in the second half of Dec, when the mercury remained above the normal mark on most days. The mercury again dipped to the normal mark on Wednesday after 14 days, but the Met office said the wait for another chill spell could be at least one more week.
"We have seen the mercury dipping to around 10°C in Jan many years. The coldest Jan days in the past have been mostly in the second half of the month. We can expect the same this, year too," said an official at Regional Meteorological Centre Kolkata.
Explore the yearly horoscope 2025 for Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces zodiac signs. Spread love this holiday season with these New Year wishes, messages and quotes.