Scattered rain in south Bengal, heavy showers to lash north Bengal till Thursday

Kolkata, Aug 11 (IANS) The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Kolkata on Monday forecast scattered rain and thunderstorms across south Bengal districts till Thursday, while heavy rain is set to continue in north Bengal under the influence of the monsoon axis.

According to the Met office, the monsoon axis now stretches from Faridkot through Ludhiana, Nazibabad, Shahjahanpur, Balia, Jalpaiguri, and east-northeast Arunachal Pradesh.

"As a result, moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal is paving the way for a favourable condition for rains in south and north Bengal as well. The warning for scattered rain accompanied by thunderstorms has been issued in several districts of south Bengal," said a met department official.

Thunderstorm warnings are in place for North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, and Nadia districts for Tuesday. The same forecast has been issued for South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, and Jhargram districts for Wednesday. The gale warnings are in place in these districts till Thursday.

Meanwhile, light to moderate rains may occur sporadically in Kolkata. The minimum temperature in Kolkata on Monday was 28.4 degrees Celsius, 1.6 degrees above normal. The city's maximum temperature on Sunday was 33.6 degrees Celsius, 1.2 degrees above normal.

Meanwhile, the north Bay of Bengal may remain turbulent for the next two days. The met department has advised fishermen not to venture into the deep sea. On Wednesday and Thursday, gale-force winds of 35-45 km per hour are likely to blow in the north Bay of Bengal and the West Bengal-Odisha coast. The gusty wind speed may reach 55 km per hour. As a result, the sea may remain rough on these two days.

At the same time, heavy rains will continue to batter districts of north Bengal for the next few days. Heavy rain warning has been issued for Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar districts from Monday to Wednesday.

In addition, there is a possibility of heavy rain in North Dinajpur district on Tuesday and in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts on Thursday. There is also a possibility of very heavy rain in Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, and Alipurduar for three days. Accordingly, an orange warning for rain has been issued for these districts.

--IANS

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