Kolkata and several districts in West Bengal are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rain until Friday as a deep depression over the Andhra Pradesh–Odisha region moves north-west and gradually weakens, the Alipore Meteorological Office said. Rainfall is expected to ease significantly from Saturday, although isolated heavy showers may continue in parts of the state.
The system entered land through the Andhra Pradesh coast late on Wednesday and continued moving north-west at about 10 kilometres per hour. The weather office said it was located near the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border region, about 40 kilometres north-east of Koraput in Odisha and 60 kilometres north-west of Parvathipuram in Andhra Pradesh. It was also about 90 kilometres south-south-west of Bhawanipatna, 100 kilometres east of Jagdalpur and 270 kilometres south-south-east of Raipur.
The depression was expected to move further north-north-west over the following six hours and gradually weaken into a regular low-pressure area. Despite the weakening trend, its effects were expected to continue across eastern India through Friday.
From Thursday afternoon to Friday morning, heavy rain was forecast in Kolkata and several districts of south Bengal. East Midnapore, West Midnapore and Jhargram were warned of very heavy rain, while South 24 Parganas was also placed under an orange alert. Wind speeds of 40 to 50 kilometres per hour were expected in the affected areas.
The weather office said rainfall would begin to reduce after Friday morning, although scattered showers were likely across south Bengal on Friday. The two Midnapore districts could still receive heavy rain during the day. No weather warning was expected in south Bengal from Saturday, when rainfall was forecast to reduce considerably.
North Bengal was also under weather watch. Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar were placed under an orange alert for Thursday night, with heavy to very heavy rain expected. Kalimpong, Cooch Behar and North Dinajpur were also likely to receive heavy rain. The weather office said the conditions would improve from Saturday, although isolated heavy showers could continue in Jalpaiguri.
The system also left the sea rough along the West Bengal coast. Winds were expected to blow at 55 to 65 kilometres per hour, with gusts occasionally reaching 75 kilometres per hour. Fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea until Friday and were placed under a red warning.
Kolkata had already recorded two days of rain linked to the system, with several roads waterlogged after spells of intense rainfall on Thursday. Between noon and 8 pm, Belgachia and Birpara recorded the highest rainfall among the locations cited in the report, at 16 millimetres. Maniktala recorded 13 millimetres, Ultadanga 15 millimetres, Dattabagan 12 millimetres and Chingrighata 11 millimetres.
The report said rain and storm conditions had disrupted normal life in parts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, including waterlogging on roads and school closures. No major infrastructure damage had been reported at the time of publication. The weather office’s next operational milestone is the expected reduction in rainfall from Saturday, after the depression weakens further and moves inland.
