The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall across Kolkata and several districts of South Bengal till the weekend, owing to a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal.
The system, which developed from a low-pressure area in the sea, entered land near Gopalpur in Odisha on Tuesday morning. While it is expected to gradually weaken into a depression, the weather office has warned of thunderstorms and heavy showers across large parts of West Bengal this week.
“Thunderstorms accompanied by moderate to heavy rain are likely in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Midnapore, Jhargram, Bankura and Murshidabad in the next two days,” an official from the Regional Meteorological Centre at Alipore said.
The weather office has further warned of rough sea conditions along the Odisha and South Bengal coasts. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the deep sea till Friday.
According to the forecast, South 24 Parganas may receive heavy rainfall on Thursday, while North 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, East Burdwan, Murshidabad and Nadia are expected to see heavy downpours on Friday. The conditions are likely to persist until next Monday.
Meanwhile, North Bengal districts, including Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar, are also expected to witness thunderstorms. Heavy rainfall is particularly likely in Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong and Alipurduar between Wednesday and Friday.
In Kolkata, the minimum temperature on Tuesday was recorded at 26.4°C, slightly above normal, while the maximum on Monday stood at 32°C.
