Depression, low pressure over Bay of Bengal to bring rain during Durga Puja: IMD
This comes on the heels of a low-pressure system, which formed over the Bay of Bengal on September 22 and triggered the heaviest rain in Kolkata in nearly four decades
Kolkata: Two back-to-back weather systems over the Bay of Bengal are likely to trigger heavy rain in some districts of West Bengal during the Durga Puja days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned on Saturday.
While one low pressure area formed over the Bay of Bengal on Thursday and has already intensified into a depression, a second low pressure system is expected to form over the sea around October 1, officials said.
This comes on the heels of a low-pressure system, which formed over the Bay of Bengal on September 22 and triggered the heaviest rain in Kolkata in nearly four decades resulting in a near-cloudburst situation.
“The depression, over the Bay of Bengal, has moved closer to the Odisha coast. Over the next 24 hours. It is very likely to move westwards across south Odisha and Chhattisgarh and weaken gradually. Meanwhile, another low pressure is likely to develop over the Bay of Bengal around Wednesday,” said a senior official of the IMD’s regional weather forecasting centre in Kolkata.
While the Durga Puja will start on Sunday, festivities revolving around the puja started earlier this week. Pandal hoppers have already started hitting the streets in thousands and popular puja pandals in Kolkata and in the districts are registering huge footfalls every day. Vijaya Dashami is on October 2.
“We are expecting light to moderate rainfall over the weekend in the districts of south Bengal. The low pressure, which is likely to form around October 1, is again likely to trigger light to moderate rain. On October 2, we are expecting heavy showers in some places, including Kolkata,” said the IMD official, adding that fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea.
Between Friday evening and Saturday evening, Kolkata registered around 13.3 mm rain due to occasional showers.
Kolkata experienced a near-cloudburst situation in the early hours of Tuesday, registering more than 251 mm rain in 24 hours, the highest in 37 years. Some parts of Kolkata received more than 300 mm rain in just six hours.
Several puja pandals in the city were damaged as large parts of Kolkata were inundated under knee-deep to waist-deep water on Tuesday and Wednesday. Some residential areas in east Kolkata were still waterlogged on Saturday.
IMD officials said that while April and May are known as the pre-monsoon cyclone months, October and November are known as the post-monsoon cyclone months. It is during these months that weather systems such as a low pressure and depression often intensify into cyclones.
