Heavy Rain Pound Kolkata, Neighbouring Areas, More Showers Predicted

Incessant rain lashed Kolkata and its neighbouring districts on Saturday as a low-pressure area turned into a deep depression, an official said.

As a result of the rains, waterlogging was reported from several parts of Kolkata, including the airport. Similar was the scene in the neighbouring cities of Howrah, Salt Lake and Barrackpore.

The situation would remain the same throughout the day, the weather office said.

According to the police, ankle-deep water was reported from parts of central and south Kolkata, but traffic movement was not disrupted.

Waterlogging was also reported from inside the Kolkata airport, but flight services were not affected, an official said.

"Both runway and all taxiways are fully operational. However, a few parking stands are affected by waterlogging for which additional pumps have been deployed to drain the water from the operational area," he said.

Parts of the city experienced up to 7 cm rainfall since Friday afternoon, a weather official said.

"The low pressure over Jharkhand and Gangetic West Bengal turned into a deep depression. It is gradually shifting towards Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. This, accompanied by an active monsoon trough over the southern districts of West Bengal, resulted in the rains," he said.

The southern districts of Howrah, Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum, Purba Bardhaman, Hooghly, Nadia, and North and South 24 Parganas districts will continue to experience showers over the next 12 hours, he said.

The Met Department also warned of thunderstorms, accompanied by lightning.

A 'yellow' alert for heavy rain of up to 11 cm for the Gangetic West Bengal districts, including Kolkata, was issued.

An 'orange' alert for heavy to very heavy rains was issued for Purulia, Murshidabad, Malda, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts.

A 'red' alert was issued for the Alipurduar district, where rainfall of up to 20 cm was likely.

On Friday, Kolkata recorded a maximum temperature of 30.1 degrees Celsius, which was 2.4 notches less than normal. The lowest temperature was 26 degrees, which was 0.6 notches below normal.