Red alert in Bengal's Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar till tomorrow

Kolkata, Aug 2 (IANS) The weather office has issued a red alert for West Bengal's Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar till Sunday.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata's Alipore, "Heavy rain is likely in Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar districts on Saturday and Sunday, and a red alert has been issued."

"Orange alerts for rain are in effect in North Bengal districts like Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Cooch Behar till Monday. Heavy rain will continue in Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Kalimpong districts from Tuesday to Friday," it said.

The cyclonic circulation over Gangetic West Bengal, which had brought heavy rain to South Bengal districts for the last few days, has moved away, providing respite from incessant rain on Saturday.

The weather office has forecast isolated thunderstorms in South Bengal districts and Kolkata.

"Scattered rain accompanied by thundershowers may occur in the southern districts and Kolkata throughout the week. However, heavy to very heavy rainfall will occur in north Bengal districts, which could result in overflowing of rivers," said a Met official.

"There is a possibility of heavy rain again in Cooch Behar, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, and Malda districts from Thursday. Heavy rain is likely in North Dinajpur on Saturday and Sunday and in Malda on Sunday," said the official.

Meanwhile, scattered rain with thundershowers will continue in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, Jhargram, and Bankura districts on Sunday.

There is a possibility of heavy rain again in Murshidabad, Nadia, and North 24 Parganas districts by the end of next week.

Light to moderate rain with thunderstorms is likely in all south Bengal districts next week.

Meanwhile, the minimum temperature in Kolkata on Saturday was 26.8 degrees Celsius, 0.2 degrees above normal. Besides, the maximum temperature in the city on Friday was 30.8 degrees Celsius, 1.7 degrees below normal.

--IANS

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