1. IMD issued an orange alert for West Bengal, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds, and heavy rainfall.
2. Districts affected include North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, and more.
3. Precautions advised for residents as severe weather conditions are expected until May 12.
Weather Update, May 09: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for various districts in West Bengal, cautioning of thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds at 50-60 kmph, and heavy rainfall ranging from 7-11 cm.
These districts include North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, Howrah, Kolkata, Hooghly, Purulia, Jhargram, West Midnapore, Bankura, West Burdwan, East Burdwan, Birbhum, Murshidabad, and Nadia.
According to a Met official, a cyclonic circulation over Bangladesh and neighboring areas, extending up to 1.5 km above mean sea level, is causing a strong moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal.
This setup is likely to sustain thunderstorms, lightning, gusty winds, and thunder squall activity across West Bengal until the weekend.
The IMD has also cautioned about rough seas near the coast, attributing the rough conditions to high-period swell waves ranging from 0.8 to 2.0 meters in height, with current speeds varying from 15 to 105 cm/sec. These waves are anticipated to have a period of 15 to 17 seconds.
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In Kolkata, Wednesday saw a daytime temperature of 30.4 degrees Celsius, marking a deviation of 5.3 degrees lower than the normal temperature, with maximum humidity recorded at 95 percent. The sky remained predominantly cloudy with a possibility of rain or thundershowers.
Cyclonic circulations, rain, and thunderstorms have led to maximum temperatures hovering around or below 35 degrees Celsius.
On Wednesday, areas like Midnapore, Krishnanagar, Asansol, and Jhargram experienced maximum temperatures around 33.5 degrees Celsius. Purulia, Sriniketan, Canning, Kalyani, and Birdhwan registered a maximum temperature of 44 degrees Celsius, while Panaghar recorded 35 degrees Celsius.
Additionally, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, and Malda have been placed under a yellow alert for thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds reaching 40-50 kmph, along with light to moderate rainfall, expected to persist throughout the week.
Furthermore, Darjeeling recorded a maximum temperature of 16 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, Kalimpong at 19 degrees Celsius, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar at 30 degrees Celsius, Alipurduar and Malda at 32 degrees Celsius, and Raiganj at 35 degrees Celsius.
