Kolkata sizzles at record-breaking 43 degree Celsius, ‘highest in 70 yrs’

Kolkata on Tuesday touched the highest temperature of the day at 43 degree Celsius which was a record in the past 70 years.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that in the wake of the heatwave situation, the Calcutta University has decided to temporarily suspend classes in its colleges from May 2 to May 11.

West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education on the other hand has also issued a notification saying that the schools can continue summer vacation and also start online classes if they wish to.

The city had, previously, registered the highest temperature at 43 degrees in 1954.

In April of 1954, the city recorded the highest temperature at 43.3 degree Celsius. The city’s highest temperature on Tuesday remained 7.4 degrees above normal. Kalaikunda in West Midnapore registered the highest temperature of the day at 47.2 degree Celsius.

On Monday the city registered the highest temperature at around 41.7 degrees.

A weather expert said that a heatwave situation is announced when the highest temperature goes 4.5 to 6 degrees above the normal temperature. Salt Lake on Tuesday registered the highest temperature at 43.6 degree Celsius and Dum Dum at around 43

degrees. On Monday, the highest temperature in Kolkata was recorded at 41.7 degrees, the joint highest for the past 50 years with the maximum temperature recorded on April 25, 1980, a weather official said.

The UN report on climate change, projects that the highest temperature in Kolkata may touch 49.6 degrees Celsius between 2081 and 2100 under the worst possible global carbon emission rise scenario. A study carried out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body comprising nearly 3,000 global scientists, predicted that the mean temperature of the city may rise 4.5 degrees Celsius around 2081-2100; compared to the pre-industrial era, at a rate higher than the global average.

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Alipore said that there may be scattered rainfall in several South Bengal districts on Sunday. The intensity of rainfall may increase on Monday and Tuesday next week. A Thunderstorm may hit North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, East Midnapore.

Incidentally, the IMD stated that the heatwave conditions are likely to persist until at least May 2, with a possibility of rainfall after Sunday. Thunderstorms may happen in the city between May 5 and 6, which could potentially bring down the temperatures significantly, providing relief from the ongoing heatwave conditions.