Cyclone Arnab’s remnants may trigger heavy rain in north Bengal, Met department warns

Kolkata: Even as Cyclone Arnab has moved away, its indirect impact may bring heavy rain to parts of north Bengal, the Meteorological Department warned on Saturday.

The low-pressure area formed from the remnants of Cyclone Arnab is currently located over northern Chhattisgarh and adjoining eastern Madhya Pradesh.

According to the Meteorological Department, several places in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Sikkim, particularly the sub-Himalayan regions, may receive rainfall. The system is drawing considerable moisture into north Bengal, increasing the possibility of isolated heavy rainfall in some districts.

Habibur Rahman Biswas, Eastern Regional Director of the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Kolkata, said a fresh depression had formed over the south Andaman Sea and adjoining areas. The system is moving west-northwestwards and is expected to intensify.

By Saturday, the depression is likely to concentrate over the southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining Andaman Sea before strengthening into a deep depression. It is likely to move towards the Andhra Pradesh coast over the next two days. Biswas said the Meteorological Department was closely monitoring the developing system.

Meanwhile, the state is expected to witness partly cloudy skies on Saturday, with the possibility of light rainfall in several areas. The weather office has issued a yellow warning of heavy rainfall for several districts of north Bengal, while an orange warning of very heavy rainfall has been issued for some areas.

In contrast, rainfall activity is likely to decline in south Bengal, where predominantly dry weather with isolated showers is expected.

From Saturday until November 5, one or two places in the state may receive light rainfall, while most other areas are likely to remain dry. However, rainfall activity may increase again next week, with showers expected between Tuesday and Thursday.

On Saturday, the five north Bengal districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Cooch Behar may experience gusty winds accompanied by light to moderate rain and scattered thunderstorms.

Between November 1 and 5, most areas are expected to have partly cloudy skies and predominantly dry weather. However, isolated showers accompanied by thunderstorms cannot be ruled out.

Kolkata is also likely to have partly cloudy skies on Saturday, with the possibility of a few light showers accompanied by thunderstorms. Rainfall may return to the city next week.

The maximum and minimum temperatures in Kolkata and adjoining areas are expected to remain around 31 degrees Celsius and 25 degrees Celsius, respectively.

On Friday, Kolkata recorded a maximum temperature of 29.2 degrees Celsius, 1.7 degrees below normal, while the minimum temperature stood at 25.2 degrees Celsius, 2.6 degrees above normal. Relative humidity ranged between 69 and 95 percent.