For 3 weeks straight, minimum has stayed in 14°C-17°C band
Times of India | 24 December 2025
Kolkata: For three weeks straight, the minimum temperature has been hovering between the 14°C and 17°C bracket in Kolkata this Dec. With the Met office expecting the mercury to dip to 13°C by Christmas, the city could not have asked for more this winter.
The Met officials cited the absence of any weather system that affects the temperature for the steady cold feeling persisting this winter. Systems like a western disturbance or an easterly wave that cause systems like low-pressure areas tend to impact the mercury, especially in the early half of the month. But this month, no such system has affected this region this winter.
"We often encounter systems like western disturbances that can trigger cloudiness and some times rain in Dec, which in turn can cause significant temperature fluctuations. Also, an easterly wave, which is a wind trough, tends to cause the formation of low-pressure areas in Dec's first half, playing havoc with the mercury. Even as such a system was there in the first week this Dec, it affected only some southern coastal states and not the entire state. Some of these factors have ensured there is no major temperature swing this winter," said weather scientist HR Biswas, head of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.
Biswas added that the absence of a strong easterly wind system too has helped the mercury to stay either below the normal mark or around normal for most days this month. This wind system is notorious for bringing in hot and moist air from the Bay of Bengal.
The month began with Kolkata clocking 18°C on the first day, which then shot up to 20°C the next day, only to dip to 17.7°C by the third day of the month. Since then, the minimum temperature has remained below 18°C for 21 days at a stretch.
The mercury plummeted to sub-15°C for the first time this winter on Dec 6, when the city recorded a minimum temperature of 14.5°C. At 2.1 notches below, the city started experiencing the winter vibes from the first week of the month itself. Since then, there has been no looking back, with the mercury dipping below 15°C two more times, including the season's lowest of 14.4°C on Sunday. Even as it has hovered around the 15°C mark, the Met office has predicted it to start dipping by Christmas.
"The dry and chill-bearing northwesterly wind is gradually gaining strength at the lower level, and it is expected to push the mercury down to around 13°C within the next couple of days. Even as the early mornings could be a little misty, we can expect sunnier mornings in the next few days," added Biswas.