Low pressure forms, Met expects heavy rain in S Bengal this week
Times of India | 28 May 2025
12 Kolkata: With the predicted low-pressure forming on time, the Met office is expecting further advancement of the southwest monsoon towards Bengal. While the monsoon's arm is expected to reach North Bengal by Friday, Met officials are keeping a close watch on the movement and intensity of the low-pressure system, as this will have a bearing on the onset of monsoon in Kolkata and the rest of South Bengal.This system is likely to move slowly and become more marked within the next two days. While how much this system will fuel the monsoon flow is yet to be ascertained, heavy-very heavy rain in pa-rts of South Bengal is imminent. Though the city got scanty rain of about 1.8 mm on Tuesday, a partly cloudy sky kept the city cool, with the maximum temperature remaining below the normal mark at 31.4°C."The low-pressure area formed over northwest Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast by 8.30 am on Tuesday. The associated cyclonic circulation extends up to 7.6 km above mean sea level, tilting southwards with height," said a special weather bulletin from IMD."We can expect the southwest monsoon to arrive in parts of North Bengal on Thursday and Friday. We are keeping tabs on this low-pressure system as it will have some bearing on the monsoon's arrival in Kolkata and the rest of South Bengal," said meteorologist H R Biswas, head of the weather forecast section at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.Monsoon touches down in North Bengal before extending its arm to Kolkata and the rest of Bengal, with the usual date being June 5. If the monsoon rain hits the region by Friday, it will again be an early arrival. The low-pressure area on Tuesday night was positioned 600 km from Kolkata. But Met officials said, as of now, the system is moving very slowly towards the Bengal coast, and the position and height of the associated cyclonic circulation will be factors for its intensity and speed."The system is moving very slowly and it might move at this speed for the next 48 hours. While it will intensify, it cannot be assumed to reach the strength of a depression. But it will trigger heavy to very heavy rain," Biswas said.The normal monsoon arrival date in Kolkata is June 10-11. Last year, it arrived on June 21, delayed by around 10 days.