KOLKATA: The city is set to have a wet Durga Puja under the impact of a low-pressure area, which is likely to form over north Andaman Sea on October 10 and may develop into a cyclonic storm and hit south Odisha and north Andhra coast on October 14.
Consistent rain with the chances of a heavy downpour has been predicted in Kolkata and its adjoining south Bengal districts on October 14 and 15 (Nabami and Dashami) while light to moderate showers are expected on October 13 (Ashtami).
In the run-up to the festival, the weather of the city will be dry with “low” chances of rain or thundershower between October 9 and 12, said the officials of Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) on Wednesday.
“The low-pressure system will form around 1,000 km away from the coast and will gain strength as it approaches the coast over the next four to five days. While it is expected to have a landfall between north Andhra and south Odisha — much like last week’s cyclonic storm that had hit the same region — this system is likely to be a stronger one. Since it is forming in October, the chances of its turning into a cyclonic storm are very high,” said RMC director GK Das.
Kolkata and south Bengal may fall within the outer band of the system and receive moderate to heavy rain. “There will be a strong south-easterly wind during the period that will help to bring in the clouds and lead to rain. We expect rain to begin late on October 13 (Ashtami) and remain light to moderate the next day. It could turn heavier on Dashami (October 15), with the possibility of Kolkata receiving a heavy spell on one of these two days,” added Das.
Along with Kolkata, North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Midnapore, Howrah and Hooghly are likely to receive light to moderate rain during the festival.
Meanwhile, southwest monsoon has started receding from north Bengal, which is likely to remain dry during the festival. Kolkata has received almost double the normal volume of rain — 96% above the normal mark — in September even as Gangetic Bengal has recorded 31% excess rain so far in this monsoon (June 1 to September 30). While Kolkata’s overall rain count in this monsoon is 31% above normal, Bengal has received 15% excess rain.
.png?w=600)
