KOLKATA: Kolkata is reeling under a heat wave with the mercury touching 40 degree Celsius on Saturday and the rains disappearing after strong westerlies weakened the monsoon winds, a met official said here.
The temperature shot up since Friday, inconveniencing commuters on the roads and even those who preferred to remain inside their homes, still faced discomfort due to the high humidity level.
"The monsoon has entered some parts of the state. There are strong westerlies from the north and monsoon has not entered Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, due to which there is a rise in the temperature and no rain here due to lack of moisture," said Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata, Director G.K. Das.
According to the Met department, the maximum recorded temperature has reached around 40 degrees which is almost 7 degrees above average. The minimum temperature was around 29 degrees.
The relative humidity touched 46 per cent causing immense discomfort. The RH determines the impact of heat and humidity together on the skin.
Heavy rains in the past week and the onset of monsoon had given relief to the citizens from the oppressive summer, but the sudden change in the weather have left them hassled, more so with the weatherman saying the situation was likely to remain the same for the next few days.
"The high temperature and the heat wave will continue for the next 48 hours," Das said.
He also said that the monsoon flow is weak now but some of the districts of West Bengal may receive moderate to light rain.
The weather forecast shows some relief for northern parts of Bengal as moderate rain with thunder is likely to occur at most places over Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, Alipurduar and Kalimpong districts.
Places over Malda, North and South Dinajpur, Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Purba and Paschim Bardhaman, Murshidabad, Nadia, Howrah, Hooghly, North and South Parganas, East& West Midnapore and Jhargram districts may receive light rain.