Kolkata is likely to experience intensified thunderstorm activities on Wednesday, the day of the polls, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). An orange alert has been issued for the city, with showers expected to be accompanied by lightning and gusty winds.
Extended Alert for Surrounding Districts
The enhanced thunderstorm activity alert also extends to Howrah, North 24 Parganas, and Hooghly. All these districts, along with East Burdwan, Bankura, and West Midnapore, are scheduled for elections on Wednesday.
Forecast Details
Met scientist H R Biswas, head of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata, stated, "The chance for thunderstorm activities in Kolkata on Wednesday is about 70%. While it is difficult to forecast the exact timing, such showers usually occur mostly towards late afternoon and night. We can expect rain in the city on Thursday. The rain intensity could be high for 15-20 minutes, during which the wind speed is also likely to be gusty."
While temperatures are expected to remain comfortable when voters begin arriving at polling booths in the early morning, Met officials allayed fears of a scorching sun in the afternoon. They indicated that the sky may stay partly cloudy before the thunderstorm activities begin.
Weather Systems Responsible
According to IMD's special bulletin, the weather systems triggering the thundershowers include an upper-air cyclonic circulation over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and its neighbourhood, an east-west trough from north Haryana to Manipur, a cyclonic circulation over west Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, a cyclonic circulation over Bangladesh and south Assam, along with a westerly trough.
The same cloud mass, pushed up by these systems, caused large-scale rain in Bangladesh and some northeastern states on Tuesday. It is now moving towards the city and neighbouring districts.
Recent Rainfall and Temperature
While some places in Burdwan, Nadia, Bankura, and Birbhum have experienced a few spells of rain since Monday night, Kolkata received light rain on Tuesday. This ensured that the maximum temperature in the city stayed below normal, but it did not provide much relief from humidity. Kolkata's maximum temperature on Tuesday was 33.9 degrees Celsius, 1.7 notches below normal. This parameter is likely to slip further on Wednesday.
