Unseasonal showers and cold winds force mercury to nosedive

Kolkata, Jan 25 (UNI) Kolkatans were caught by surprise as unseasonal winter showers lashed the city and its adjoining areas since last night, bringing back the winter chill after the unusually hot weather since the past week.

The maximum temperature plumetted at least ten degrees below the normal level, trigerred by the unexpected rain which threw traffic out of gear and inundated several areas.

Meanwhile, the gloomy weather and cold winds prompted the people to stay indoors and enjoy an extra holiday ahead of the Republic day celebrations tomorrow. However, despite the roads being deserted for most part of the day, the few vehicles and pedestrians, who had to venture out into the streets, had to face hardships, as several areas of the city were caught in traffic snarls.

The Alipore Met office recorded a maximum temperature of 17.1 degrees Celsius, ten degrees below normal while the minimum was 15.3 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal.

About 37.4 mm rainfall was recorded since the past 24 hours, while the maximum relative humidity was pegged at 98 per cent, Met sources added.

Meanwhile, the rain gods further threatened to play spoilsport to the Republic Day celebrations as the Met sources forecast no respite from the rain and predicted intermittent moderate to light showers over the next 24 hours.

However, the citizens welcomed the unseasonal rain as it would enable them to enjoy the winter chill for a few more days and allow them to use the woollens which were already in the process of being packed away, anticipating the end of this year's winter.

UNI DPM KK RN1849