Written by Shambhavi Pandey
West Bengal continued to witness cloudy skies and intermittent rainfall on Thursday, as monsoon remained active across the state.
In Kolkata, the weather on Thursday stayed mostly overcast through the day, with brief spells of light rain or thundershowers. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 27.4 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 25.1 degrees Celsius. Relative humidity remained extremely high, between 97 and 98 percent. The total rainfall over a 24-hour period ending 8:30 a.m. Thursday stood at 11.6 mm.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a low-pressure area that previously lay over Gangetic West Bengal now lies over south Jharkhand and the neighbouring region.
The monsoon trough, which now runs from northwestern India to northeast Bay of Bengal via Digha, continues to fuel the ongoing rainfall activity. The associated cyclonic circulation extends up to 5.8 km above mean sea level. Another trough from West Assam to Vidarbha is also influencing rainfall over the region.
Light to moderate rainfall is very likely to continue across most districts of South Bengal for the next few days. On Thursday, isolated thunderstorms with gusty winds (30-40 kmph) and lightning were reported from Purulia, Bankura, Purba and Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum, and Murshidabad.
Rainfall amounts varied across districts, with Berhampore in Murshidabad recording 7 cm, Krishnanagar in Nadia 6 cm, and Jangipur, Burnpur and Mankar receiving around 5 cm each. Several other locations across Birbhum, Purulia, and Bardhaman districts reported rainfall between 2-4 cm.
The IMD has not issued any major warnings for Kolkata, but isolated heavy rainfall (7–11 cm) is likely in North and South 24 Parganas and Purulia on July 14. Other districts including Howrah, Hooghly, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Nadia, and Bankura will continue to receive light to moderate rainfall throughout the week.
In North Bengal, Kalimpong and Darjeeling districts reported significant rainfall, with Lava town receiving 10 cm and Munsong 9 cm. The IMD has issued heavy rainfall warnings (7-11 cm) for hill districts such as Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar for July 14, 16, and 17. Thunderstorms with lightning are also forecast in these areas.
For Kolkata and its surrounding areas, the forecast remains steady: generally cloudy skies with one or two spells of rain or thundershower. Over the next few days, maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to remain around 29-32 degrees Celsius and 26-28 degrees Celsius respectively.