Kolkatans struggling to beat the heat may have to face a tougher time in the next few days. The meteorological office is anticipating hotter days ahead for the city at least till 24 April, when the day temperatures could touch 41 degree Celsius. Till 2.30 p.m. today, the city saw a maximum temperature of 40.2 degree Celsius, which was 40.8 yesterday.

The Regional Meteorological Centre issued a red warning for East Midnapore, West Midnapore, West Burdwan, Jhargram, Bankura, Birbhum for 20 and 21 April with ‘severe heat wave conditions’ an orange warning for nine districts till 24 April and a yellow alert for the remaining areas of South Bengal. The city of Kolkata has also not been spared. From yesterday, when the maximum temperature reached 40.8 degree Celsius, a departure from the normal temperature of more than 5 degrees, Kolkata also fell under the heat wave zone like the western districts of South Bengal.

The high humidity, which was above 40 per cent for most parts of the day, reaching a maximum of 70-80 per cent in the inner districts of South Bengal, is anticipated to fall in the next few days. The weather scientists are expecting the maximum relative humidity to be in the range of 75-85 per cent during the morning and minimum relative humidity in the range of 25-35 per cent during afternoon in South Bengal. The reason cited by the weather scientists is the prevailing dry westerly to north westerly wind at lower levels over the region and due to strong insolation continuously over the past few days.

Considering the scorching heat, the weather scientists have suggested caution and extreme care for vulnerable people. Among the possible impacts, the weather department has cautioned of ‘very high likelihood for heat related illness and possibility of heat strokes for red warning districts and increased chances of heat illness symptoms in people who are either exposed to sun for a prolonged period or doing heavy work. High health concerns for vulnerable people like infants, elderly, people with chronic diseases for all other districts and heat cramps or heat rash have also been flagged.