Kolkata and several parts of South Bengal are likely to see more rain over the coming days, with the Alipore Meteorological Department forecasting heavy showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds in multiple districts from Wednesday. The forecast could bring renewed disruption to roads, drainage systems and daily travel across the region after scattered rain in the city and neighbouring districts.
The weather office said scattered thunderstorms and rain are likely across almost all districts of South Bengal on Saturday and Sunday. Gusty winds accompanying lightning may reach 30 to 40 kilometres per hour, and Kolkata is also likely to receive rain during this period.
Rainfall is expected to ease somewhat from Monday before increasing again from Wednesday. Heavy rain has been forecast from Wednesday through Friday in South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, West Midnapore and Jhargram. The forecast covers several districts with coastal, peri-urban and rural settlements that are connected to Kolkata through roads, rail services and regional transport corridors.
The weather office has also issued an orange alert for Purulia, Bankura and West Burdwan for Saturday morning. The alert warns of rain accompanied by lightning and gusty winds. Such conditions can affect road visibility, traffic movement and outdoor work, while lightning poses a safety risk to people in exposed areas.
The forecast is linked to several atmospheric systems. The monsoon trough currently extends from Saurashtra and the northeast Arabian Sea through Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand before entering West Bengal and stretching over the Bay of Bengal through Digha. A north-south trough also extends from North Bengal to North Odisha and may support increased scattered rain in parts of South Bengal.
A circulation over Thailand was expected to move into the North Andaman Sea by Friday evening. The system may lead to the formation of a low-pressure area over the Andaman Sea and then move north-northwest towards the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh coast over the following three to four days. The weather office said there was no warning over the Bay of Bengal at present.
North Bengal is also expected to receive scattered rain. Darjeeling and other northern districts may see light to moderate rain with lightning on Saturday, while rainfall is expected to decline from Sunday. Heavy rain is possible in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar on Thursday and Friday.
Kolkata recorded a minimum temperature of 26.8 degrees Celsius on Saturday, 0.5 degrees above normal. The city’s maximum temperature on Friday was 31.9 degrees Celsius, 0.9 degrees below normal. The next significant forecast milestone is the expected increase in heavy rain across parts of South Bengal from Wednesday, with the district-level alerts and coastal system to be monitored by the weather office.
