Depression in Bay of Bengal to bring heavy rain in south Bengal till Independence Day
Kolkata, Aug 12
The met office on Wednesday predicted very heavy rain in coastal districts of Bengal and heavy rain over rest of south Bengal till Saturday due to the twin effects of a cyclonic circulation and a depression in the Bay of Bengal.
According to a Met Department official, a cyclonic circulation has formed in the northwest Bay of Bengal and adjacent areas. It extends up to a height of about 7.6 km above sea level. Due to this, a depression is likely to form in the northwest Bay of Bengal on Wednesday.
As a result, rain will increase in several districts of south and north Bengal in the next few days.
According to the forecast, light to moderate rain will occur in almost all the districts of south Bengal today and heavy to very heavy rain is likely in North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore and West Midnapore districts.
Heavy rain is likely in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly and Bankura districts. Along with this, thunderstorms and gusty winds at a speed of 30 to 40 kilometres per hour are also likely.
Heavy rain is likely in East Midnapore, West Midnapore, South 24 Parganas, Jhargram, Bankura, Purulia and West Burdwan districts on Thursday. Heavy rain is forecast in East Burdwan, West Burdwan, Purulia and Birbhum districts on Friday and in Birbhum, East Burdwan and Nadia on Saturday.
The rain will continue in north Bengal too. On Thursday, there is a possibility of heavy rain in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts. On August 14, heavy rain may occur in the above five districts, namely, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar. On August 15, a heavy rain warning has been issued in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts.
On Tuesday, the maximum temperature of the day in Kolkata and its surrounding areas was 32.06 degrees Celsius which is 00.02 degrees higher than normal. The minimum temperature was 25.07 degrees Celsius which is 01.01 degrees below normal.
Meanwhile, four people died after being struck by lightning and at least eight were injured in the incident which took place on Tuesday evening in Purulia district.
Four female workers were injured when lightning struck them while they were working on planting paddy seedlings in a field in Joypur police station area of Purulia. They were rescued and taken to Joypur Block Health Centre, where the on-duty doctor declared a woman named Sunita Gope (50) dead.
On the other hand, an elderly man named Gaur Garai (70), a resident of Rangadi village under Balrampur police station, died after being struck by lightning while grazing cows in a field.
Another incident occurred in Lachmanpur village under Arsha police station. A woman named Bharati Mahato (51) died after being struck by lightning while returning home after grazing goats in a field.
At the same time, a man named Sachinath Mahato (45) died after being struck by lightning in Kanchanpur village under the same police station area. He was working in the field.
— IANS
Reader Comments
These lightning strikes in Purulia are devastating. Losing four people in one evening—farmers, women working in fields, just doing their daily work. We talk about climate change in cities, but these rural deaths are the real cost. Government should issue better lightning alerts and provide safe shelters in farming areas. This is tragic and avoidable. 🙏
Finally some relief from the humid weather! The temperature might be near normal, but the mugginess in Kolkata has been unbearable. If these rains clear the air and cool things down till Independence Day, I'm all for it. At least the Republic Day and Independence Day parades in the rain have a certain charm, haha. Happy Independence Day in advance! 🇮🇳
I have a small farm near West Midnapore, and honestly, we desperately need this rain for the paddy fields. The monsoon has been patchy and some districts haven't received adequate rainfall. But I'm worried about the heavy rain warnings—it might flood the fields and damage the young saplings. It's a double-edged sword. Let's hope it's helpful, not harmful. 🙏
The alert is good, but I feel our forecasting is still not up to the mark. We get warnings about rain, but there's no concrete plan for evacuation in coastal areas or relief materials when things go wrong. The South 24 Parganas region has been prone to severe cyclones and flooding. The Met department should work closely with the disaster management team to ensure the vulnerable families are relocated beforehand.
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