Kolkata: The city is set to experience the first feel of a winter chill this weekend, as the mercury is set to drop marginally. But it could be a minor mercury plunge that may not last beyond the middle of next week, when another cyclone is likely to hit the South India coast.“The mercury is set to drop by one to two degrees from Saturday. It is likely to plunge more sharply in the western districts of the state where the minimum temperature may drop to 17°C. But it won’t plunge below 20°C in Kolkata and south Bengal. The minimum temperature in Kolkata may slide to 20°C by Saturday,” said Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) weather scientist Sourish Bandopadhyay.Two successive cyclones on the east coast led to moisture incursion and a resultant ‘heat trap’ which has been keeping Kolkata warmer than usual in the first week of Nov, say meteorologists.The two systems that struck the Andhra Pradesh coast—Cyclone Arnab (late Oct) and Cyclone Murasu (early Nov)—along with subsequent low-pressure troughs over the Bay of Bengal disrupted the seasonal wind transition.Instead of cool, dry northwesterly winds, the cyclonic circulations pulled warm, moisture-laden southeasterly winds from the Bay of Bengal into Gangetic West Bengal. High humidity and intermittent cloud cover acted like a blanket, keeping minimum temperatures above 21°C–22°C. Another cyclone brewing over the Bay of Bengal could again block the northwesterly, leading to temperature rise by Nov 19. “We expect rain in the coastal districts of Bengal on Nov 18, while Kolkata may get showers a day later. This will again lead to a temperature rise,” said Bandopadhyay.This chill will likely pause by mid-next week. A fresh low-pressure area forming over the Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into a depression around Nov 15, said the RMC. As its outer moisture bands approach the coast, Kolkata’s skies are forecast to turn cloudy again by Nov 18–19.
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