Kolkata sees season’s coldest day as temperatures dip across Bengal

Winter has deepened its icy embrace across West Bengal, sending a shiver through the state as mercury levels continue their steady descent. Kolkata woke up to the coldest day of the season on Tuesday, with the minimum temperature slipping to a chilly 12.6 degrees Celsius — 1.2 degrees below normal — down from 13.5 degrees Celsius the previous day.

The cold was made sharper by an unusually low daytime temperature. The city’s maximum hovered at just 18.2 degrees Celsius, a striking 7.2 degrees below average, ensuring that the bite of winter lingered from dawn to dusk. Meteorological officials noted that such a sustained spell of cold is rare for Kolkata, which has not experienced a winter of this intensity in several years.

According to the Met office, the chill is here to stay for the immediate future, with temperatures expected to remain largely unchanged over the next couple of days and the possibility of further dips in night-time readings.

Elsewhere in the state, the cold tightened its grip even more fiercely. Purulia emerged as the coldest pocket in south Bengal on Monday, recording a minimum of 7.2 degrees Celsius. The hill town of Darjeeling shivered at 4.4 degrees, while Sriniketan registered 7.3 degrees. Asansol saw temperatures fall to 9.1 degrees, Burdwan to 9 degrees, Kalimpong to 10 degrees, Digha to 11.2 degrees and Cooch Behar to 13.6 degrees Celsius.

“The minimum temperatures in Kolkata and other districts of south Bengal are likely to remain steady for the next two days, prolonging the current cold spell. Thereafter, a gradual rise of two to three degrees Celsius is possible,” a Met official said, adding that there is no indication of any easing of winter’s intensity before the New Year.

Skies over Kolkata are expected to remain largely clear, though pockets of fog may form during the early morning hours. Dry weather is forecast to prevail across south Bengal, even as a light to moderate fog warning has been issued statewide, with visibility in some areas likely to drop to around 200 metres.

North Bengal, however, faces a thicker veil of mist. The Met office has cautioned that districts such as Darjeeling, Cooch Behar and North Dinajpur may experience dense fog in the coming days, with visibility plunging to between 50 and 199 metres. Adding to the winter drama, there is also a possibility of light rain and snowfall in the Darjeeling hills from Wednesday to Friday.

With IANS inputs