KOLKATA: The city woke up to an unseasonal thunderstorm and an incessant drizzle, which occasionally got heavier and drenched the city for more than two hours on Friday morning. The gust of wind played havoc with flights at the city airport, leading to delays and diversions.
It was triggered by two low-pressure troughs — one across Haryana and Bihar and another that stretched between Bihar and Telngana. The showers returned in evening with the city receiving 27.4 mm rain during the day.
At least seven flights arriving Kolkata were delayed due to bad weather.
It could, however, remain dry on Saturday when the city celebrates Saraswati Puja. But a cloud cover could still hover over the city. While Kolkata recorded a minimum temperature of 19.8 degrees on Friday, the mercury might plunge by five degrees in 48 hours and settle between 14 and 15 degrees. “Two low-pressure troughs combined to trigger the showers. But Kolkata and south Bengal will remain dry on Saturday. While the first half of the day could remain cloudy, it should clear up by late afternoon,” said RMC director GK Das.
Once cloud cover recedes, the mercury will plunge as the northwesterly returns. “It will pull mercury down but minimum temperature will not plunge below 14,” added Das. North Bengal will continue to receive rain on Saturday.
At the airport, a flight of IndiGo airlines from Cochin and an Air India flight from Delhi had to go around due to wind shear for one hour and 20 minutes, respectively in the morning and evening. Another IndiGo flight from Silchar also went around for four minutes in afternoon due to unstabilized approach. Between 10.40am and 11am, IndiGo’s flight from Port Blair was diverted to Ranchi while Air India’s flights from Port Blair, IndiGo’s flight from Delhi and SpiceJet’s aircraft from Chittagong were diverted to Bhubaneshwar. They returned to Kolkata later in the afternoon after weather improved.
Even though heavy rain in January and early February is rare, the city and south Bengal gets western disturbance-triggered rain in winter.
(Inputs by Tamaghna Banerjee)
