South Bengal: Thunderstorms, torrential rains loom as sea turns treacherous

Darkness fell like a curtain over South Bengal on Monday night, 1 September, as a fierce squall front tore through the skies, drenching Kolkata and its neighboring districts with torrential rain, crackling lightning, and winds that roared like a stormy sea.

According to the India Meteorological Department (MeT), the system is expected to remain active for another 12 hours, bringing heavy rain and thunderstorms to Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, and adjoining areas. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea between Tuesday and Thursday as rough conditions are likely to prevail.

A squall front, formed by the collision of easterly and westerly winds, creates massive cumulonimbus clouds aligned in a linear pattern. Meteorologists explained that such formations occur suddenly, plunging areas into darkness and triggering lightning, heavy storms, microbursts, and intense rainfall.

Late on Monday, the MeT department issued a red alert for severe thunderstorms and lightning in Kolkata, Howrah, and Hooghly. Officials further noted that a cyclonic circulation near the Myanmar coast is likely to generate a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal within the next 24 hours. With the monsoon axis shifting back over the state, this system is expected to intensify rainfall across South Bengal from Tuesday.

North Bengal is also forecast to receive heavy showers in some districts till Sunday, while light to moderate rain is likely elsewhere in the region.

In Kolkata, the maximum temperature on Monday was recorded at 34.2°C, 1.7 degrees above normal, while the minimum stood at 28.2°C, 1.6 degrees above normal.

With IANS inputs