Light to moderate rain accompanied by gusty wind brought welcome respite in several districts by bringing down the mercury significantly.

Kolkata Rain: Southern West Bengal, which had been parched under the scorching sun for days with the mercury shooting much above 40 degrees Celsius, received the much-needed relief as rains on Monday drenched Kolkata and several other districts of the state.

Light to moderate rain accompanied by gusty wind brought welcome respite in several districts by bringing down the mercury significantly.

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The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that thunderstorms are likely in the region over the next few days adding that a cyclonic circulation over south Jharkhand and strong moisture incursion from the Bay of Bengal will bring thunderstorms with lightning and gusty wind in various districts of West Bengal.

The thundershowers in the evening rush hours in Kolkata and neighboring Salt Lake did not seem to cause any inconvenience to those returning home from work as they were happy by the relief from the oppressive heat that had been prevailing for several days.

“A thunderstorm affected suburban train services on the Sealdah-Canning line in the evening for over an hour as banana leaves fell on the overhead electric traction wire. The incident happened between Champahati and Ghutiari Sharif stations, disrupting services from 8 pm to 9.15 pm,” said an official.

The IMD has said that thunderstorms with gusty winds will occur in several districts of West Bengal till May 10.

The maximum temperature in Kolkata reached 43 degrees Celsius on April 30, the highest in 50 years, according to the Met Department.

Many districts in southern West Bengal have been recording temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, with some places sizzling at more than 45 degrees, affecting normal life.

The severe weather conditions in the southern and western districts of the state, caused by dry westerly winds and strong solar insolation, have led the state government to prepone summer holidays in schools run by it, while many private educational institutions have either switched to online classes or changed their timings.

The weather agency said that Purulia on Monday recorded the highest temperature at 42.3 degrees Celsius, while Kolkata recorded 35.3 degrees Celsius.

(With PTI inputs)