West Bengal: As NDTV's monsoon express left the North East, the city of Joy welcomed them with lots of sunshine.
This Monsoon, while everyone is enjoying a good game of football in Kolkata, they are yet to be treated to some good rainfall. Monsoon did arrive in the West Bengal capital on June 13 but since then the city has seen very little of it.
Between June 1 and June 15, Kolkata is expected to receive 100 mm of rainfall. However, this time it has received 57.6 mm of rain, 42% percent below normal.
But the MET (expand) office says the monsoon could still pick up . "The monsoon is weak at the moment. Cyclonic activity will get stronger later," said Dr GC Debnath, Director, Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.
However, at the moment, with temperatures touching 36 degrees and humidity at 82 to 92 percent, the city of Joy is desperate for rain. Tourists visiting the city from India and abroad too are hoping for the rain showers to provide them with some relief on their vacations. "It's very hot in Kolkata" said an Australian tourist.
Despite the fact that the city will get clogged once the rains arrive, people are still anxiously waiting for the monsoons to arrive in Kolkata. However, until then, it's a battle against the heat for them.