Kolkata shivered in freezing temperatures of 10.9 degrees Celsius on Friday, while in Darjeeling went to 4.8, the coldest in five years.
With Kolkata at 10.9 degrees Celsius on Friday and Darjeeling recording the lowest temperature in West Bengal at 4.8 degrees with many districts also falling well below the 10-degree mark, this was the coldest January in five years, and snow is expected in Darjeeling.
Purulia saw the Celsius plunge to 6.2 degrees. Bardhaman and Sriniketan saw minimum temperatures of 7.3 and 7.8 degrees, respectively.
The Met Office said a lower dip in Kolkata was unlikely but not impossible. Even if the Celsius goes up marginally, the cold spell is likely to last for the next few days, said a Met official.
Friday was the coldest January day in Kolkata in five years (see chart). The mercury in Kolkata has not gone below 11 degrees in January since 2018. In 2013, the Celsius had slid below 11 degrees on five days in January.
According to the Met records gathered over the past 50 years, the coldest January day in
Kolkata was on January 14, 1989, when the Celsius plunged to 8.4 degrees. A Met official attributed the current chill to the free flow of dry and cold northwesterly winds from Kashmir.
“There is no obstacle to the northwesterly winds. They are getting free access across mainland India. There is no weather system, on the land or on the sea, to stall the flow of the winds,” said G.K. Das, director, of India Meteorological Department, Kolkata.
The coming days are likely to remain cold, according to the Met forecast.
“The minimum temperature is likely to be in the 11-degree Celsius range on Saturday. It might go up slightly on Sunday and Monday but the chill will persist. The day temperature is also likely to go up marginally,” said Das. On Friday, the minimum temperature in Darjeeling was 4.8 degrees Celsius.
Some Imaginations of Kolkata Snowing!
Just how beautiful would Kolkata look if it snows? AI-generated photographs give us a sneak peek. Heavenly, no?#Kolkata #winters #ai pic.twitter.com/jBFWOcmCec
— Calcutta Times (@Calcutta_Times) January 6, 2023
