West Bengal weather is set to remain unsettled in parts of the state as a new low-pressure area is expected to form over the southern Andaman Sea, while the weakened remnants of Cyclone Arnab continue to influence weather conditions across the region. The Alipore weather office said the new system is unlikely to have a major immediate impact on West Bengal, but officials are monitoring its movement towards the coast.
The developing system near the southern Andaman Sea and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is moving gradually towards the coast. Meteorologists said it could intensify into a depression by Saturday and strengthen further over the following two days while moving towards the Andhra Pradesh coast. Its projected movement is west-northwestward.
The system is expected to bring stormy weather and rain near the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. However, the weather office said there is no current indication that it will affect the West Bengal coast directly. The Alipore weather office is continuing to track the system as its strength and direction develop.
Kolkata and the districts of south Bengal are expected to receive scattered rain until Tuesday. Dry weather is forecast across the region from Wednesday. The forecast indicates that the new low-pressure area will not immediately end the existing weather variations caused by the remnants of Cyclone Arnab, which have already weakened into a regular low-pressure area.
Those remnants are currently located over north Chhattisgarh and adjoining eastern Madhya Pradesh. The associated cyclonic circulation extends up to about 4.5 kilometres above sea level. According to the weather office, this system is drawing substantial moisture towards north Bengal and creating conditions favourable for rain and thunderstorms.
Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar may receive isolated light to moderate rain. A yellow alert has been issued for these five northern districts on Saturday, when winds could reach speeds of 30 to 40 kilometres per hour along with rain. North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda are expected to begin experiencing drier weather from Tuesday.
Temperatures are not expected to change significantly across north and south Bengal during the next 24 hours. They may rise gradually by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius over the subsequent three days. Kolkata recorded a minimum temperature of 25.2 degrees Celsius on Saturday morning, 2.6 degrees above normal. The city’s maximum temperature on Friday was 29.2 degrees Celsius, which was 1.7 degrees below normal.
For residents, the immediate forecast points to intermittent rain in Kolkata and south Bengal, with more active weather expected in parts of north Bengal. The next significant monitoring point is the expected consolidation of the southern Andaman Sea system by Saturday and its movement towards the Andhra Pradesh coast over the following two days.
