St. Andrews Church, Darjeeling during snowfall. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
West Bengal is set to witness varied weather conditions over the next week, marked by dense fog, low temperatures in parts of the state and a possible late-week shift in weather in the hills.
Meteorological observations on Sunday morning showed a chilly start, with Darjeeling recording a minimum temperature of 3.8 degrees Celsius, while Bankura emerged as the coldest in the plains at 9.0 degrees Celsius. Dry weather currently prevails across the state, though a cyclonic circulation over north Bangladesh and a trough in the easterlies over the Bay of Bengal are influencing local conditions.
According to the forecast, light rain or snowfall is likely at one or two places in the higher reaches of the Darjeeling district in the next few days. Similar light rain is expected in parts of Kalimpong and Alipurduar districts by the start of the new year. South Bengal, however, is likely to remain dry through the first week of January.
Dense fog remains a major concern, particularly during early morning hours, with visibility expected to drop to between 50 and 199 metres. Districts likely to be affected include Uttar Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar in north Bengal, and North and South 24 Parganas, Purba Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur and several other districts in south Bengal. The foggy conditions are likely to persist till January 3.
Meanwhile, Kolkata recorded a minimum temperature of 14 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
In terms of temperature trends, the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata said minimum temperatures in north Bengal are likely to see no major change over the next seven days. In south Bengal, minimum temperatures are expected to remain steady for the next two days, followed by a gradual rise of 2 to 3 degrees Celsius over the subsequent three days, before stabilising thereafter.
The weather office cautioned that dense fog may disrupt air, rail and road traffic, and advised commuters to drive cautiously during early morning hours and remain updated on travel schedules.