The Met office has warned of a heatwave spell in south Bengal starting Wednesday. An alert has not been issued for the city.
“Mainly dry westerly to north westerly wind is likely to prevail over the region and consequently heatwave conditions are very likely to occur over some districts of south Bengal,” said a Met bulletin issued on Tuesday afternoon.
West Burdwan, Birbhum, Purulia, Jhargram, Bankura and West Midnapore are among the districts likely to be affected by the heatwave from April 23 to 26, said the bulletin.
Though Calcutta is not on the list, it will likely feel like a cauldron because of the twin assaults of heat and humidity.
“In Alipore, the maximum temperature is likely to be around 37 degrees Celsius, but the moisture content will be on the higher side, pushing the discomfort index up,” said a Met official.
All coastal areas of Bengal are likely to see a rise in humidity levels. “As you move into the interiors, the hot and humid conditions will give way to dry heat,” he said.
A heatwave is declared when the mercury breaches the 40-degree mark and the maximum is five notches above normal.
Last year, April saw multiple heatwaves in south Bengal, including Calcutta. The maximum temperature had breached the 40-degree mark in the city more than once. Compared to that, April has been mild so far.
This year, in the second week of March, the Met office had issued a heatwave alert for the western districts. But it lasted barely a day or two.
A tour of the city showed glimpses of what was in store.
Shirts get dripped in sweat in 10 minutes spent outdoors. Lemonades sold briskly. An umbrella was the most common shield against the sun.
The Met office recorded a maximum temperature of 35 degrees in Alipore. But the main tormentor was the humidity. The minimum relative humidity — a mark of the moisture content in the air during the driest part of the day — was a staggering 64 per cent.
The high humidity made the night unusually warm. At 29.1 degrees, the minimum temperature was three notches above normal
The normal day temperature for end-April in Alipore is just under 36 degrees, he said.