More rains expected in city after cyclonic circulation
The Statesman | 10 July 2025
Heavy rains continued to batter parts of south Bengal for the third consecutive day due to the combined effect of a low-pressure area and an active cyclonic circulation, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue fresh warnings for several districts in the state.
The IMD’s Alipore Regional Meteorological Centre on Wednesday forecast heavy rainfall (7-11 cm) in four southern districts — West Burdwan, Purulia, Jhargram and Bankura, along with parts of Kolkata, where sporadic thunderstorms accompanied by winds gusting up to 40 km/h are expected. According to the IMD, the low-pressure area over Gangetic West Bengal has now shifted to Jharkhand and adjoining regions, while the cyclonic circulation is likely to move northwestward toward Jharkhand and northern Chhattisgarh over the next 24 hours.
The monsoon trough now extends from Prayagraj to the Bay of Bengal through the low-pressure zone, keeping the monsoon activity robust over the region. The weather department has also warned of turbulent sea conditions along the West Bengal and Odisha coasts due to the system. Fishermen have been advised against venturing into the deep sea. In north Bengal, heavy rainfall is forecast over Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, and Alipurduar districts on Wednesday. The IMD further projected light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms across all north Bengal districts through the weekend, with higher intensity expected in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar on Sunday and Monday.
Kolkata woke up to overcast skies and intermittent showers on Wednesday, with no signs of sunshine. The continuous rainfall has, however, brought respite from the sweltering heat. The maximum temperature in the city on Tuesday dropped to 27.1°C, 5.4°C below normal, while the minimum on Wednesday stood at 24.8°C, around 2°C below average. Rainfall over the past 24 hours included 11.7 mm in Alipore, 15.7 mm in Dum Dum, 33 mm in Uluberia, 31.2 mm in Krishnanagar, 94.8 mm in Sriniketan, 73.4 mm in Burdwan, 46.2 mm in Basirhat, and 30.4 mm in Canning.
The IMD forecasts indicate that unsettled weather conditions will persist across large parts of Bengal through the week, with no significant improvement expected in South Bengal before Monday.