Kolkata: A sudden afternoon downpour, triggered by a “local thunderstorm”, drenched the northern fringes of Kolkata on Monday, bringing relief from the heat
but also causing widespread waterlogging. While the skies opened over Salt Lake, Dum Dum, VIP Road and Baguihati, the southern and central parts of the city stayed largely dry. “The northern part of Kolkata received a thunderstorm on Monday precipitated by local moisture and heating. In the absence of consistent rain, the mercury spiralled up. Aided by moisture, the conditions turned favourable for a thunderstorm in the afternoon,” said HR Biswas, weather scientist at the Regional Meteorological Centre, as per a TOI report. Kolkata recorded a maximum temperature of 34.7 degrees Celsius, two degrees above normal, as the monsoon trough shifted north towards Bengal’s hill districts. According to Biswas, this shift will keep rainfall relatively sparse in the city for now. “A low-pressure area is set to form over the northwest and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal on Wednesday. But it will have a bigger impact on Odisha and Andhra coasts rather than Bengal. Kolkata and south Bengal may receive slightly more rain than now, though. But there is yet no system to trigger consistent rain over a wide area,” he explained.
Kolkata Streets Turn into Pools
The sudden hour-and-a-half-long downpour left several stretches of the city waterlogged. The service road at Haldiram, along VIP Road, was submerged in knee-deep water, slowing traffic on both flanks. In Salt Lake, water accumulated near the CGO complex, Ramkrishna Island, and the inner lanes around Karunamoyee and Central Park. Civic officials deployed pumps to drain the water, and it receded after a few hours.
Sector V and New Town authorities also operated pumps to prevent flooding, while waterlogging below Lock Gate flyover and along BT Road disrupted traffic. Officials said the Bagjola and nearby link canals overflowed during the intense rain and high tide, delaying stormwater drainage.
Despite the disruption, many residents in the north welcomed the cooling showers after a sultry day — though the relief came with soaked shoes and traffic delays.
