The city sizzled at nearly 39 degrees Celsius on Monday, the hottest day of the season. Some forecasts said the day temperature was likely to reach 42 degrees by the weekend.
In comparison, Churu in the Thar desert region, one of the hottest places in India, witnessed a maximum temperature of around 33 degrees on Monday.
The Met office in Calcutta recorded a maximum of 38.7 degrees, three notches above normal, in Alipore. The districts were hotter.
Panagarh in West Burdwan topped the Bengal Celsius charts with a maximum of 42.7 degrees. In Bishnupur, Bankura, the mercury shot up to 41.5 degrees. Closer home, Barrackpore in North 24-Parganas clocked 40.2 degrees.
The Met office has issued another heat-wave alert for south Bengal and predicted hot and uncomfortable weather in Calcutta and its neighbourhood.
“Mainly dry westerly to northwesterly wind is likely to prevail over the region and, consequently, heat-wave conditions/ hot and uncomfortable weather is very likely to occur over the districts of south Bengal from April 15 to 19,” a Met bulletin said.
The Met bulletin added: “The maximum temperature is expected to be above normal by 2-4°C over the districts of south Bengal during the next 4-5 days. Maximum humidity over the coastal districts is likely to be 80-90 per cent and about 70-80 per cent over the interior districts. It is likely to be more than 40 per cent for most of the day.”
On April 17 and 18, “heat-wave conditions” are likely over East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, South 24-Parganas, Purulia, Bankura, East Burdwan and West Burdwan. The rest of south Bengal can expect “hot and humid weather”.
On April 19, “heat-wave conditions” are likely over East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, South 24-Parganas, Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Murshidabad, East Burdwan and West Burdwan. The forecast is “hot and humid weather” for the remaining south Bengal districts.
A heat-wave is declared over a particular place when the mercury rises above 40 degrees and the maximum temperature is five notches above normal.
Temperatures in Calcutta are likely to reach 40 degrees by the weekend, the Met office said.
Apple Weather has predicted a maximum of 40 degrees in Calcutta on Tuesday and 42 degrees by Sunday.
A tour of the city on the first working day of the week was enough to get a sense of the heat assault.
Around 1.45pm, the Lake Market intersection of Rashbehari Avenue was almost deserted. The North Gate of Victoria Memorial did not even have hawkers selling food or soft drinks.
Some 30 minutes later, only a handful of pedestrians could be seen on the north-bound flank of J.L. Nehru Road near the American Center. One of them was a woman waiting for a bus, her entire face wrapped in a dupatta.
But some things went on as usual. Such as a knockout match of the CAB second-division league at Deshapriya Park. A team from Dhakuria was facing off against another from Howrah in the two-day match that began on Monday.
“Each team will get to bat 85 overs,” said a scorer. The 51st over was being bowled when The Telegraph visited the ground around 2.30pm. The website of AccuWeather, a US-based forecasting agency, was showing a RealFeel of 43 degrees.
Many people stepped into air-conditioned malls, especially in the afternoon, for a respite. The Met office has virtually ruled out the chances of widespread thunderstorms in south Bengal till the weekend. Local showers, accompanied by gusts of wind, are possible, an official said.
“The moisture level is likely to go up gradually in south Bengal. But the humidity will remain confined to the surface,” H.R. Biswas, head of the weather section at the Regional Meteorological Centre, Calcutta, said.
“In the lower troposphere (between 1km and 2km from the surface), the dry winds from northwestern India are dominant. For uniform and widespread thundershowers, the warm and moist air has to rise. A lifting mechanism that can propel the warm and moist air upwards is missing.” North Bengal, though, can expect thunderstorms.
