Kolkata, March 12 (IANS) The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) at Alipore has forecast rainfall in several districts of West Bengal, including Kolkata, from Thursday onwards.

According to the weather office, scattered showers are likely to continue in Kolkata till next Tuesday. Similar conditions are expected in districts such as Howrah, Hooghly, Purulia, Bankura, East Burdwan, West Burdwan, Birbhum and Murshidabad. Rain alerts have been issued for 12 districts of south Bengal.

The Met Office said there will be little change in the minimum temperature across south Bengal districts over the next seven days. However, the daytime temperature may rise by two to three degrees Celsius before dipping again after about three days.

Meanwhile, districts in north Bengal are likely to witness thunderstorms till next Tuesday. Light rainfall accompanied by thunder is expected, particularly in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri. Gusty winds with speeds ranging between 30 and 50 kmph may also occur in these areas.

For Thursday, the sky over Kolkata is expected to remain partly cloudy during the day, with a possibility of light thunderstorms at isolated places in the afternoon. The maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to hover around 32 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius, respectively.

A Met department official said the weather activity is being influenced by a low-pressure area extending from West Assam to Gangetic Bengal via Bangladesh at an altitude of about 1.5 km above sea level. In addition, a cyclonic circulation is present between 1.5 km and 3.1 km above sea level over the south Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Sri Lanka. These systems are expected to trigger light rainfall across parts of Bengal.

Meanwhile, the minimum temperature recorded in Kolkata and its adjoining areas on Wednesday was 24.6 degrees Celsius, which is 2.9 degrees above normal. The maximum temperature stood at 30.8 degrees Celsius, about 2.2 degrees below normal. Relative humidity ranged between 61 per cent and 95 per cent during the day.

–IANS

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