Min temp dips further to 12.9°C, Met spies slight rise next week
Times of India | 27 December 2025
Kolkata: The city woke to another chilly morning on Friday when the mercury plunged to yet another low for the season. The minimum temperature slipped to the 12-degree bracket for the first time this winter in the city. While the Kolkata Met office does not foresee a further dip in mercury immediately, it is likely to hover around the 13-degree mark for the next few days, keeping the chill factor alive.
On Christmas morning, the mercury dipped to 13.7 degrees. As predicted by the Met office, the minimum temperature dipped further to the 12-degree mark by Friday when the city recorded 12.9 degrees. An uninterrupted flow of dry north-westerly wind has been pushing the mercury down the Celsius scale. Even as this wind system is expected to continue breezing, a likely western disturbance in the next few days can retard its pace, making the mercury go up slightly in Kolkata and the rest of the southern districts.
In Met parlance, a western disturbance is an extratropical storm system originating from the Mediterranean region and capable of causing sudden and non-seasonal rain and snow to the north-western parts of India during winter.
"While we expect the mercury to hover around the 13-degree mark for the next three to four days, it is likely to rise to stand between 14 and 15 degrees by Dec 31. But the cold feeling will stay. At present, we are getting strong north-westerly wind which may weaken by the year-end," said Met scientist Sourish Bandyopadhyay at the Regional Meteorological Centre Kolkata.
While a western disturbance does not have any direct impact like winter rain in the eastern region, its presence over the north-western region can have an indirect impact as it can influence the dry and chill north-westerly wind system. This wind system is the most important factor in keeping the winter chill in Kolkata and the rest of south Bengal alive.
"A western disturbance primarily affects the north-western region. But this system can block or weaken the north-westerly wind system as this wind comes from that region and also pushes up the moisture content in the air it brings into the city. In that case, it will make the mercury go up slightly," added Bandyopadhyay.
While the 12.9 degrees on Friday was 1.2 notches below normal, the maximum at 21.2 was 4.4 degrees below normal. In fact, the maximum temperature this Dec has stayed below the normal mark on 23 days out of 26 days this month.