The wait for Southwest Monsoon in Kolkata and Gangetic West Bengal is nearing an end as conditions look favorable for the onset of Monsoon anytime soon. According to the latest weather update by Skymet Meteorology Division in India, Mishti city Kolkata has been receiving continuous rain since the 12th of June and showers have been heavy in the last 24 hours.
On Sunday evening many places in Kolkata and adjoining areas observed good rain. Dum Dum station in Kolkata recorded 25 mm of rain, whereas Diamond Harbor and Canning, south of Kolkata, received 16 mm and 15 mm of rain respectively.
Other stations that observed good rain in West Bengal were: Alipore 39 mm, Badipada 23 mm, Haldia 20 mm, Midnapore 32 mm, Krishnanagar 26 mm, Malda 3 mm and Jalpaiguri 4 mm. Balasore and Keonjhar in Odisha also received 33 mm and 10 mm of rain respectively.
The official onset date of Monsoon in Kolkata is 10th of June however, the presence of an El Nino and the absence of a strong monsoon system in the Bay of Bengal are attributed to the delay in Monsoon over Kolkata and Gangetic West Bengal. However, Sub Himalayan West Bengal has been witnessing good pre-monsoon showers for the last few days and thus it is surplus by 60%.
A cyclonic circulation in the Bay of Bengal was seen forming on Saturday, raising hopes of more rain over East and Northeast India as it could have given a boost to the monsoon surge, but sadly that did not happen. Currently this weather system is seen moving towards Myanmar. The only affect it had in terms of rain was over Andaman and Nicobar Islands where 105 mm of rain occurred at Port Blair in the last 24 hours. Long Island, another station in Car Nicobar received 93 mm of rain.
Seeing weather models at Skymet, it looks like Southwest Monsoon will cover entire West Bengal, Bihar and touch east Uttar Pradesh by the 21st of June.
“Till now Kolkata has had around 100 mm of rain as opposed to the normal average of 283.5 mm in the month of June. Weather in Kolkata and Gangetic West Bengal will continue to be rainy this week, indicating that Monsoon is just round the corner,” says meteorologist Samar Chaudhury
