Written by Adrija Datta

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata has predicted increased thunderstorm activity accompanied by light to moderate rainfall and gusty winds over several districts of West Bengal in the coming days.

For Kolkata, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast partly cloudy skies with the possibility of moderate rainfall on May 24 and May 25. The maximum temperature in Kolkata during this week is likely to range between 31°C and 34°C, while the minimum temperature will likely hover between 26°C and 28°C.

According to the forecast, both North and South Bengal are likely to experience scattered to fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall with gusty wind speeds reaching 30-40 kmph from May 24 to May 29.

Isolated pockets of South Bengal may receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in the coming days, with heavy rain predicted in North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, and West Midnapore are likely to witness heavy rainfall ranging from 7 to 11 cm on May 28 and May 29. Overall, the rainfall during this period is expected to be slightly normal over South Bengal and slightly below normal over North Bengal.

In a significant development, a low pressure area is expected to form over the west, central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal around May 27. This depression is likely to intensify further over the subsequent two days. Under its influence, light to moderate rainfall with isolated heavy showers is likely to commence over coastal areas of West Bengal beginning May 28.

In the week starting May 30, the IMD has predicted fairly widespread light to moderate rainfall and thundershower activity over both North and South Bengal. Rainfall is likely to be slightly above normal during this period. Maximum temperatures over South Bengal are expected to remain between 2 and 3°C below normal, while North Bengal will witness near-normal temperatures.

(Adrija Datta is an intern with The Indian Express)