The cold winds and fog pushed the minimum temperature to 11 degrees, two notches below normal, in the city on Sunday. The chilly spell is expected to stay for the next 24 hours.The winter is likely to stay longer than in the past few years. The weather office said that though sky cleared by Saturday afternoon, the maximum and minimum temperature will remain almost the same over the next two to three days.
“Though the sky will remain clear throughout the day, the weather will be the same tomorrow,” said a weather official. The Meteorological department also mentioned that on 30 December, the western disturbance that lies near Jammu and Kashmir, will most probably cause rain on New Year. Rainfall is expected mainly in the western districts of Purulia, Birhum and Burdwan.
On January 1, the whole of southern Bengal including Kolkata is likely to witness dense fog and there is a chance of cloud formation because of the western wind flowing in and it will bring the mercury further down. However, the temperature will rise from Thursday onwards.