March’s first day signals return of heat, max may touch 34°C soon
Times of India | 2 March 2025
123 Kolkata: Pre-summer heat started setting in on Kolkata and its surroundings on Saturday, even as the maximum temperature crawled up to 32.7°C, a degree above normal, while the minimum jumped a degree to clock 23.4°C, three degrees above normal. While the afternoon was warm and humid, making it uncomfortable outdoors, the evening was more pleasant. This was a departure from the trend of the last seven days when the city's maximum temperature remained below the normal mark while the minimum hovered marginally above normal.
The Met office has predicted warmer days ahead when the maximum temperature could touch 34°C. "With the days getting longer, the city is getting a longer exposure to the sun, and hence the mercury is rising. Some warm westerly winds are also blowing in from Jharkhand, but they are not yet strong enough. This spell could see the maximum temperature rise marginally and touch 34°C, but it will not spiral further within the next one week," said Regional Meteorological Centre weather scientist H R Biswas.
While this Feb was the hottest across India in more than a century, Kolkata remained pleasant with the maximum temperature clocking below-normal figures on most days of the month. Weather in east India usually does not match that of the northern or southern parts in Feb, said weather scientists. "Kolkata and south Bengal do not receive warm winds from central or west India at this time of the year. While the northwesterly stops, cutting out the chill, moisture from the sea keeps the mercury in check. Last month, every time the mercury was about to spiral, moisture incursion led to clouds and light rain, pulling the temperature down," said Biswas.
The IMD on Friday predicted ‘above-normal' heatwave days between March and May in several parts of the country, including Bengal. Bengal and Kolkata recorded the longest heatwave in half a century in April last year, with the maximum temperature touching 40°C in Kolkata on at least nine days. On May 1, 2024, the maximum temperature touched 43°C, which was the second highest recorded in the city since 1954. Dum Dum and Salt Lake recorded marginally higher temperatures on that day.
RMC scientists, however, saw a silver lining in the gloomy predictions for this summer. In Feb, they pointed out, the mean temperature in east and NE India was significantly lower than those recorded in central and south India. "It was four to six degrees lower than these regions. While more heatwave days have been predicted in Bengal, the pre-monsoon rain count predicted for the region is also high. This will help keep the heatwave days in check. The maximum temperature generally spirals in Bengal when the thunderstorms or nor'westers dry up," said Biswas.
While heatwave days have been predicted in Bengal as early as March, it could be restricted to the western districts.
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