Mercury at 11.6°C, coldest New Year’s Day in 15 yrs rings in 2026
Times of India | 2 January 2026
Kolkata: The coldest new year's day in at least 15 years rang in 2026. On Thursday, Kolkata woke up to another chilly morning with the minimum temperature at 11.6°C. Though it was slightly higher than Wednesday's, it was 2.6 notches below normal.
In neighbouring Dum Dum and Salt Lake, the minimum hovered in the 11°C bracket, with the Met office recording 11°C and 11.6°C, respectively. The Met office expects the mercury to rise gradually in the next few days due to a changing wind pattern, but it will start falling again by next weekend. Officials at the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Kolkata, said that, like December, the cold feeling in the city is likely to remain stable this Jan.
"A change in wind pattern is expected due to a passing western disturbance, which will not let the mercury slip further for now. The minimum temperature could touch the 13°C mark by Friday and increase further to reach the 15°C–16°C mark in the next two-three days. But we can expect it to start coming down from Jan 10," said meteorologist H R Biswas, RMC Kolkata head.
On Jan 1, 2024, the mercury hovered around the normal mark at 14.2°C while in 2023, it was a high of 16.2°C. In 2015, it had shot up five notches above normal to stand at 18.3°C on Jan 1, making it one of the warmest New Year's Days in a decade and a half.
The maximum temperature in Kolkata on Thursday, at 22.6°C, was also 2.5 notches below normal. The day temperature is likely to rise further by Friday. Though the city is still getting the cold northwesterly wind at ground level, this wind system, responsible for dragging down the mercury, is losing momentum at a higher level.
"We need this wind system not only at ground level but also at a height of about 1 km-2 km above. But this wind system is weakening at the higher level," Biswas said.
Dec 2025 ended on a chilly note when the minimum plunged to 11°C on the last day of the year while the maximum, at 20.1°C, was 5.2 notches below normal. The cold feeling had been steady throughout the month, with no weather system playing spoilsport. "We expect a similar stability in the cold feeling in Jan, when the average minimum temperature is expected to be below normal while the maximum, on an average, is likely to stay near the normal mark. We will be issuing an outlook for Jan weather in one-two days with more specifics," Biswas added.