The month of April is the period when pre-monsoon activity in the state of West Bengal is on the rise. It is during this time, when the Nor’westers, which are severe thunderstorms punched with high wind speed and rain, occur in the region.
These thunderstorms travel from Jharkhand to West Bengal, and even affect parts of Bangladesh. The region witnessed a series of thunderstorms on Monday. These thunderstorms travelled all the way from Jharkhand to coastal Odisha and West Bengal, resulting in moderate to heavy rain in the capital city Kolkata and most parts of Bengal.
Heavy rain in Kolkata also delayed the opening ceremony of IPL 8 by more than an hour. This pocket usually gets 40 – 60 mm of rainfall in the month of April. However, some places in West Bengal recorded that amount of rain in last 3 to 4 days only. On April 5, Kolkata received 7 mm of rain, while the amount increased to 19.4 mm on April 6.
On Tuesday, April 7, the state capital received 24.6 mm of rain. Burdwan recorded 25.3 mm of rain, Diamond Harbour 40 mm, Midnapore 53 mm, and Krishnanagar received 23.2 mm of rain. The amount of rainfall in other places of West Bengal varied between 15 to 20 mm. Even parts of Bangladesh bordering West Bengal received moderate to heavy rain due to the Nor’westers.
The maximum and minimum temperatures in Kolkata were recorded at 34.2°C and 22.1°C, respectively. Generally, during this time of the year, the maximum in the city settles in the mid-30s. Also, the weather usually remains hot and humid. The Nor’westers commence late afternoon and end around early night. The system continues for about 3 to 5 hours with varying intensity and is a frequent weather feature in West Bengal and adjoining areas.
Picture Courtesy: bengalionline.in
