Max-min temp difference climbs to 12 after Monday’s squall
Times of India | 14 May 2025
123 Kolkata: The first significant showers in the city on Monday night dragged the mercury down on Tuesday. While the minimum temperature nosedived by close to six notches, the maximum saw a dip of 3.4 notches, causing a gap of 11.7 degrees between the two mercury parameters.Even as there is a possibility of some thundershower activities in the city on Tuesday night, the Met office sees the mercury rising slightly by Wednesday, as the showers are unlikely to be as potent as those on Monday night."Whenever some significant thundershower spells happen, it temporarily brings a respite. While it is likely to be hot and humid for the next two days, we can look forward to larger thundershower activities from Thursday evening onwards, bringing a more lasting relief from the heat," said weather scientist HR Biswas, head, Weather Forecast Section at Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.A squall gusting at 63 kmph late on Monday night, along with 8.2 mm of rain, shot the minimum to 23.5 degrees from 29.2 degrees, while the maximum was forced to dip to 35.2 degrees from 38.6 degrees. Despite the dip, the ‘feel-like' temperature continued to remain high at around 45 degrees during the peak of the afternoon. The Met officials said this was due to high moisture content in the lower levels.The maximum, which surged to this summer's highest of 39.4 degrees on Sunday, slipped below the normal mark after six days. The minimum remained above normal for five consecutive days before the dip on Tuesday. The minimum scaled to the summer's highest of 29.7 on Sunday."There is good moisture near the ground level due to the south-westerly wind, which is adding to the discomfort factor. But there is also heating, and these two factors will be triggering rain expected from the latter half on Thursday," added Biswas.Around the same time when a squall was sweeping across the city, another squall came galloping in neighbouring Dum Dum at a speed of 52 kmph. Areas around Salt Lake were also lashed by a nor'wester spell that accumulated to around 12 mm of rain within the span of around an hour."In view of westerly to south-westerly lower-level winds and strong solar insolation heating, hot and humid weather with isolated heatwave conditions is very likely over south Bengal till Thursday," said a special bulletin from IMD.