Kolkata, July 6 (IANS) The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Kolkata’s Alipore area on Monday predicted more rain in south Bengal districts and Kolkata in the next few days.

The city of Kolkata and south Bengal districts have been receiving moderate to heavy rain since Sunday afternoon. The rain will continue as a depression has formed in the Bay of Bengal which is gradually moving towards the coast.

“Due to the influence of the low pressure area which has turned into a depression, there is a possibility of heavy rain in Kolkata and south Bengal. There will be very heavy rain in some places. Continuous rain has started in Kolkata and its suburbs since Sunday night. Sometimes the rain intensity increases, sometimes it decreases. However, the rain will continue till Wednesday,” said an official at RMC.

Due to the influence of continuous rain, some roads in the city have also become waterlogged. Scattered rain will continue throughout the day in Kolkata on Monday and next two days.

The Met office said that the low pressure area in the northwest Bay of Bengal has intensified and turned into a depression on Sunday. At that time, its location was 50 km south-southeast of Balasore in Odisha, 60 km south-southwest of Digha in West Bengal.

It will gradually move further west-northwest. By Monday, it is going to enter the land through the intermediate part of Chandbali and Digha in Odisha near Balasore. After that, the low pressure will move further north. In the next 24 hours, that is, by Tuesday, the low pressure may cross the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border.

“Monsoon is active in the state. The monsoon axis extends from southwest Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and extends to the Bay of Bengal. As a result, there is a possibility of very heavy rainfall in a large part of south Bengal. It will continue till Wednesday. Rain may increase in north Bengal from Monday onwards,” said the official.

Meanwhile, heavy rainfall is likely in several southern districts including Kolkata on Monday. The list includes Howrah, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Purulia and Bankura.

Apart from this, more or less rain will continue in the southern districts throughout the week.

The Met office has issued an ‘Orange Alert’ for very heavy rain in East Midnapore, West Midnapore and Jhargram districts. Heavy rainfall will resume in north Bengal from Tuesday onwards. Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar are likely to experience very heavy rainfall accompanied by gusty winds on Wednesday and Thursday. Heavy rainfall is also likely in North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur districts.

–IANS

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