Max at 36.1°C but cloudy days, thunderstorm on Met radar

Kolkata: Kolkata continued to be scorched on Saturday, with the maximum temperature hitting 36.1°C — the highest recorded so far this season — even as the Met office predicted cloudy days ahead, with chances of thunderstorms striking the city over the next five days. While it could remain partly cloudy on Sunday and Monday, the city and its surrounding districts could be lashed by ‘intense thunderstorms' between Tuesday and Thursday. Conditions are set to turn favourable for thunderstorm activity after a scorching spell, said the Regional Meteorological Centre on Saturday.There was no respite from the sweltering heat on Saturday, though. Kolkatans scurried for cover as the real feel temperature shot up to 43.8°C, according to a private weather forecasting service. "We could see a slow drop in temperature as a cloud cover starts appearing from Sunday. It could lead to sporadic rain in and around Kolkata. This will be due to localised conditions — clouds triggered by heating and moisture incursion, which is a common phenomenon in summer. But chances of more severe thunderstorms will increase over the subsequent three days," said Sourish Bandyopadhyay, weather scientist at RMC."We expect a trough and a cyclonic circulation to form near Bengal that will lead to clouds and thunderstorms. There will also be an indirect impact of a western disturbance. It will raise the chances of thunderstorms in Kolkata and across south Bengal," added Bandyopadhyay. The minimum temperature in Kolkata climbed by a degree on Saturday to touch 27.6°C. "Since there is no system to act as a protection against the sun, the temperature has been rising over the last five days. Most parts of south Bengal remained hot and humid," said a weather scientist. Along with heat, the presence of moisture has been significant in the region. A powerful western disturbance is expected to cause rainfall in some western and northern states, along with hailstorms and snowfall.