Key Points

Meanwhile, scattered rains will continue to occur over the south Bengal districts till Sunday.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata's Alipore, at present the low pressure axis is extending from the northeast Arabian Sea over Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Gangetic West Bengal to south Bangladesh. The monsoon axis at present extends to the northeast Bay of Bengal via Sriganganagar, Churu, Gwalior, Khajuraho, Daltonganj, Purulia, and Canning.

In addition, a cyclonic circulation is present over the Gangetic West Bengal, resulting in moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal under the influence of the three systems. "This has created favourable conditions for rain in South Bengal for the next two days, with north Bengal districts likely to receive heavy to very heavy rains for seven days starting from Friday," said a Met department official.

On Wednesday, heavy rains, accompanied by thunderstorms, are likely in Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, East Burdwan, West Burdwan, Birbhum, Murshidabad, and Nadia districts. Light to moderate rains with thundershowers are likely in all the districts of south Bengal. The same forecast has been issued for Thursday as well. The amount of rain in south Bengal will reduce significantly from Friday.

However, the situation will get worse in north Bengal, which is already reeling under heavy water flow from the Teesta River, which has inundated large areas in Darjeeling district due to incessant rains since the last few days.

Heavy to very heavy rains will occur for the next seven days, starting Friday, in the north Bengal districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, and Alipurduar. Light to moderate rains will occur in Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, and Malda districts on Thursday.

The Met department said that the water level of north Bengal Rivers such as Teesta, Torsa, and Jaldhaka will rise due to heavy rains. There is also a risk of landslides in the hilly areas of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.

Meanwhile, due to incessant rain in Sikkim and different parts of the Darjeeling hills, the water level in the Teesta River has risen. The rains also triggered landslides at multiple locations on Tuesday. The swollen Teesta disrupted traffic on NH10, the main highway that connects Sikkim and Kalimpong with north Bengal's Siliguri.

The river flooded stretches of NH10 at Rabijhora, a junction near Teesta Bazar, from where the Peshok Road leads to Darjeeling and 29th Mile. Traffic also came to a halt on the Peshok Road that connects Darjeeling with Kalimpong. The Teesta also flooded some of the unprotected areas in the Kranti and Malbazar blocks of Jalpaiguri district.

Meanwhile, Kolkata has received a record amount of rainfall in July this year, in the last 5 years. The average rainfall in July, till July 29, was 593.6 mm. Last year, the rainfall in July was 398.4 mm. The minimum temperature in Kolkata on Wednesday was 25.7 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees below normal. The maximum temperature in the city on Tuesday was 30.0 degrees Celsius, 2.6 degrees below normal.

- IANS