Heavy rain forecast for parts of Bengal till Aug 13

Kolkata, Aug 9 (IANS) The Meteorological office on Saturday predicted heavy rain for parts of West Bengal till August 13.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata's Alipore, heavy rain will continue in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar districts of north Bengal till August 13.

According to the weather department, the monsoon axis is extending over Firozpur, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Kheri, Patna, Bankura, and Digha and extending to the northeast Bay of Bengal. In addition, there is a cyclonic circulation over the coasts of Bangladesh and West Bengal. Under the influence of the two systems, rain will occur across West Bengal for the next few days.

In South Bengal, heavy rain is likely in Bankura, East Burdwan, West Burdwan, Birbhum, West Midnapore, and South 24 Parganas districts, along with isolated very heavy rain in Purulia district.

"The intensity of rain has reduced in south Bengal, while rain will continue in north Bengal districts. Several rain warnings have been issued in this regard," said a Met department official.

Orange alert for rain have been issued for Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, and Alipurduar districts for August 9 and 12. Orange alerts will also be in place in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts on August 13. Yellow alerts will be in place throughout the week in Malda, Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur, and South Dinajpur districts.

Yellow alert has also been issued in most districts of South Bengal, including Kolkata, Howrah, and Bankura, on August 9 and 10. An orange alert has been issued in Purulia for August 9 and 10.

However, the rainfall may decrease slightly in several districts of south Bengal, although light to moderate rain will continue.

Rain are likely to be accompanied by gusty winds of up to 40 kilometres per hour on Saturday. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea off the West Bengal-Odisha coast.

Meanwhile, there is a possibility of light to moderate rain in Kolkata for the next few days. The maximum temperature in Kolkata on Friday was 29.2 degrees Celsius, 2.8 degrees Celsius below normal. The minimum temperature was 25.7 degrees Celsius, 0.8 degrees below normal.

--IANS

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