Relief in sight: Weatherman predicts rain in South Bengal districts today

Kolkata: With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting a situation hotter than normal over most parts of the country between April-June this year, the people of Bengal are concerned for the prolonged period of intense heat.

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore has said that several parts of South Bengal will receive rainfall on Wednesday. Kolkata and several South Bengal districts will receive thundershower and a strong breeze measuring 30-40 kmph on Friday. The rains may bring little relief to the people in South Bengal from a scorching heat. The coastal districts like North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, East Midnapore will receive rainfall on Saturday and Sunday as well.

The IMD has said that both maximum (day) and minimum (night) temperatures and number of heatwave days are expected to be ‘above-normal’ during April-June.

During the period, the number of heatwave days is also expected to be higher than normal (2-4 additional heatwave days) over Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and northern parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Health experts have pointed out that prolonged periods of extreme heat can lead to dehydration and strain on infrastructure such as power grids and transportation systems and therefore the IMD expects “anticipatory actions” by local authorities.

Kolkata’s highest temperature has been hovering at around 36 degrees temperature in the past few days while the districts in the western parts of the state are witnessing the highest temperature close to 40 degree Celsius. People in the city and some other South Bengal districts will feel comparatively comfortable weather between Wednesday and Sunday as the mercury may go down by 2-3 degrees again due to rains.