Kolkata temperature: Why 'City of Joy' is experiencing unusual chill for the past few days and how long will winter last. Here's what IMD forecast says

West Bengal's capital Kolkata has been shivering over the past few days due to the chilly weather conditions, prompting social media to claim there is a cold wave in the city. Kolkata has been experiencing an unusual chill despite a gradual rise in temperatures over the past few days, with northerly winds and persistent cloud cover intensifying the cold across the city. But the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has clarified that even though conditions are chilly, Kolkata is not officially under a cold wave, according to a report in The Telegraph.

“There is no cold wave alert for Kolkata. The maximum temperature is low, but a cold wave is declared based on minimum temperature, not how cold it feels during the day,” HR Biswas, head of the weather section at the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata, told My Kolkata. A cold wave is usually declared in a place when the minimum temperature drops by five degrees or more from normal. The IMD, has however, warned of cold day conditions in West Bengal till January 7, the weather agency said.

Why is Kolkata experiencing the unusual chill?

Kolkata's unusual chilly weather can be attributed to northwesterly winds, tightening their grip over West Bengal from Sunday evening. According to a report in The Telegraph, a Met official linked the low day temperature in the city to a shallow but persistent layer of fog near the earth’s surface and low clouds in the lower levels of the atmosphere. “Northwesterly winds are already active. They will get stronger now. Both the maximum and minimum temperatures in south Bengal are expected to stay below normal. In north Bengal, the slide will be sharper,” a Met official told the media outlet.


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“In Calcutta, the minimum temperature is expected to drop to around 12°C in a couple of days. A further drop is also likely as the week progresses. The day temperature will go up from what it was on Sunday, but only marginally. The day will still feel very cold,” said the official. “Dense to very dense fog is likely to continue during night/morning hours over north and adjoining central India during the next seven days,” said a national bulletin from the IMD.

On Tuesday, the minimum temperature is expected to be colder and the maximum is expected to rise marginally to around 20° Celsius, according to the IMD. A Western Disturbance that was over north Sikkim — headed to China — on Monday caused moisture incursion into Bengal. North Bengal is witnessing dense fog.

Current weather update in Kolkata

For the next 24 hours, the Met office has forecast shallow fog/mist during morning/ forenoon and mainly clear sky towards afternoon. The maximum and minimum temperature most likely to be around 19˚C and 11˚C respectively, the forecast said. Day temperatures are expected to remain 3 to 5 degrees below normal across Gangetic West Bengal for the next few days, while minimum temperatures may fall by about 2 degrees before stabilising “The cold may feel intense, but officially, this is not a cold wave,” Biswas repeated.

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IMD’s south Bengal forecast also shows no cold wave warnings for Kolkata, Howrah or the 24 Parganas, with weather warnings marked as nil for the next seven days. According to IMD norms, a cold wave in the plains is considered when the minimum temperature falls to 10°C or below and shows a marked departure from the normal. A cold wave is declared when the departure ranges between –4.5°C and –6.4°C, while a severe cold wave is announced when the departure exceeds –6.4°C.

Alternatively, a cold wave is also declared if the actual minimum temperature drops to 4°C or lower, and a severe cold wave if it falls to 2°C or below. These conditions must prevail at at least two stations within a meteorological subdivision for two consecutive days.