Chill to return today, says Met

KOLKATA: Those who have been grumbling about the missing chill can chill out now. With the high pressure belt that was acting as the spoilsport finally withdrawing from the Bay of Bengal, the Met office forecasts chilly days ahead.
In fact, the mercury will start dropping from Tuesday onwards. And the following days will see the gush of northerly winds sweeping across the region, adding to the cool factor.
The high pressure belt had developed over the Bay of Bengal around nine days ago. It brought in a lot of moisture in the air, pushing up the mercury. For the whole of last week, it refused to budge, blocking the normal course of winter. Adding to the weather woes was a trough of low pressure in neighbouring Bihar. Though it had triggered rain across the city and its fringes, it had also left the city cloudy and foggy, arresting the drop in the mercury.
"The high pressure belt over Bay of Bengal has finally weakened and the impact of the low pressure trough has vanished, too. So, the decks have been cleared for the mercury to drop once again. Adding to the winter momentum will be the chilly wind from the northern region. Therefore, cold days are ahead," said GC Debnath, director of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.
The lowest temperature recorded so far this winter was on December 7 when it had climbed down to 13.9°C. But it started climbing up gradually to reach 20.9° C on Friday night which was six degrees above normal. Monday's minimum was recorded at 16.6°C, three degrees above normal, while the maximum temperature was 25.6°C, a degree below normal.
But now the mercury is set to drop once again. According to the Met office, the night temperature will hover around the normal mark for the next two days. Then, it will start falling again to reach around 13°C. Along with that, the day temperature is also expected to drop to below the normal mark by about two degrees once the cold wind from the snow-laden Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir flows in.
"I had started enjoying the weather two weeks back. I had even pulled my woolens and jackets out of the closet. But then, the temperature started rising again. I hope the Met office's prediction comes true and the chill returns soon," said college student Piyali Das of Beckbagan.
So, get ready to welcome the winter chill back. Pull out your woolies, enjoy a walk in the sun, go picnicking and make the most of winter.