Kolkata: The city remained enveloped in a cloud cover on Wednesday but Christmas revelers did not seem to pay much heed to it as they thronged the streets in large numbers. The clouds pushed up the minimum temperature to 18°C ​​and pulled down the maximum dropped by two degrees to 24.6°C. The Met office predicted a significant drop in minimum temperature on New Year’s Eve when the mercury could fall below 15°C.
A western disturbance led to the clouds and triggered drizzles in some parts of the city late on Tuesday. “This is the second western disturbance to impact Kolkata and south Bengal since last week. Last weekend’s rain was caused by the previous western disturbance. But this one’s impact will start waning from Thursday, when the clouds are expected to recede. The minimum temperature will start sliding and may touch 17°C and the maximum temperature will rise to 26°C,” said Regional Meteorological Center weather scientist Sourish Bandopadhyay.
It is the “indirect impact” of the western disturbance and the flow of easterly winds that are carrying in moisture from the sea, which have led to the clouds and the temperature rise. Bandopadhyay added that the mercury would not see a sharp slide immediately and that it would hover around the 17°C mark till the northwesterly, slowed down by the interference of clouds and easterly winds, gained momentum. “From Sunday, the temperature could start plunging and slide to 14°C on Dec 31. So, the New Year’s Eve night will be chilly,” he said.
But that drop, too, could be short-lived as another western disturbance was expected to strike, said a weather scientist. The minimum temperature could start dipping by the weekend, though. “It will take some time for the northwesterly to gain speed and flow in unobstructed. Until that happens, the chill will not return,” he said.