• Rain on radar but no relief from discomfort
    Times of India | 17 May 2025
  • Kolkata: The city had to stay content with traces of rain on Thursday night, when the minimum dipped by around two notches but there was no significant dip in the maximum temperature.Even though the maximum — at 35.9°C — was only 0.1 notch above the normal mark, the high moisture made it ‘feel like' as high as 45°C during the day.The Met office has not ruled out rain in the city during the next four days, even if it could be scattered. As a result, the mercury is likely to hover around the same mark on days when it does not rain and go down on days the city gets rain."The cloud that reached the Kolkata sky on Thursday night was not as potent as the columns that reached districts like Hooghly, Nadia, Birbhum, Burdwan, and Jhargram. That is why the city did not get any intense spell. However, the city can expect some showers on at least two days between Saturday and Tuesday, even if the spells are scattered and light," said HR Biswas, head of the weather forecast section at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.Kolkata ended up getting only sparse rain measuring 0.5 mm on Thursday night. It, however, dragged the minimum temperature down to 27.8°C from the previous day's 29.6°C.The city is currently getting the southerly wind, which is bringing in moisture abundantly from the Bay of Bengal. The high discomfort level is due to the humidity, a Met official said."Intense heat is unlikely in the city for now. But on days when it does not rain, the humidity will remain high, pushing up the discomfort factor," added Biswas. On an average, Kolkata should get rain on at least seven days in May.
  • Link to this news (Times of India)