Kolkata: After a prolonged and sluggish start to the monsoon, Kolkata was lashed by a torrential downpour on Friday, ending a week-long dry spell and plunging temperatures. However, the heavy rain left several city pockets waterlogged, resulting in slow-moving traffic and inconvenience for residents.
Heaviest 24-Hour Rainfall This June
According to the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Alipore, the city recorded approximately 53 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours leading up to Friday evening, with the vast majority of the deluge occurring since Friday morning. This marked the heaviest 24-hour rainfall count this June, providing a stark contrast to the stifling humidity that had gripped the city over the past week.
Temperature Plummets
The maximum temperature in the city nosedived to 29°C — 4.8 notches below the seasonal normal. Just a day ago, the maximum had soared to 35.5°C. A similar plunge was mirrored in the night temperature. The minimum slipped 2.4 notches below normal to settle at 24.6°C on Friday, compared to 29.7°C on Thursday.
Uneven Rainfall Distribution
The rainfall distribution across the city was uneven, with northern pockets and suburbs bearing the brunt. While Alipore recorded 53 mm, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) observatory at Dum Dum recorded 88 mm during the same period. Many residents woke up to heavily flooded alleys and roads, particularly in traditional bottleneck areas.
Meteorological Explanation
Explaining the stark variation in rainfall across a single metropolitan area, head of RMC Kolkata H R Biswas said, “The most prominent feature of monsoon is widespread rain. But the rain amount can differ in different locations depending on the cloud density and moisture content.”
Monsoon Revival
The southwest monsoon made its onset in Kolkata and other southern districts of Bengal on June 12. However, immediately after, it entered a sluggish phase. The city endured nearly a week of negligible rain activity until moisture-laden winds finally began triggering showers late on Thursday evening. Meteorologists attribute this sudden revival to shifting pan-Indian weather systems.
“At present, there is a seasonal trough stretching from Punjab to Bihar across Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Along with strong moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal, the monsoon flow is enough to trigger heavy to very heavy rain in North Bengal and light to moderate rain in South Bengal, including Kolkata, for now,” Biswas said.
Weekend Forecast
The weather office has predicted the wet spell will continue through the weekend, though with gradually reducing intensity. “We can expect more rain on Saturday, too, though the intensity could be lower. The intensity may go down further by Sunday,” Biswas said. Civic officials have deployed portable pumps in waterlogging-prone zones to ensure that the city’s drainage networks clear up before the next wave of rainfall.
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