The southern districts of West Bengal reeled under the heat conditions on Wednesday and the temperature in the region will hover around 40 degree Celsius in the next 24 hours, the Met department said.
The dry westerly wind blew in south Bengal districts with the maximum temperature rising above 40 deg C in many places, according to a bulletin issued by the Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata.
Bankura recorded the maximum temperature of 42.8 deg C during the day, followed by 41.9 deg C in Sriniketan in Birbhum and Panagarh in Paschim Bardhaman and 40.8 deg C in Kharagpur in Paschim Medinipur, the IMD office.
"Heat wave conditions are likely to prevail over Purulia, Paschim Bardhaman, Bankura, Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Howrah, Hooghly, North and South 24 Parganas districts till May 12," IMD, East Director Sanjib Banerjee told reporters. Hot and uncomfortable weather is likely to remain during the period in Kolkata, Nadia, Birbhum and Murshidabad districts, he said.
Kolkata recorded a maximum of 38.9 deg C temperature, while the highest humidity level was at 84 per cent. In the bulletin, senior IMD official G K Das urged people to avoid prolonged heat exposure, cover their heads with cloth, drink sufficient water, and use ORS and homemade drinks like lemon water.
The weather will be cooler in the city and its neighbourhood with the formation of cyclone 'Mocha' over the southeast Bay of Bengal and its movement towards a north-northwest direction, intensifying into a severe cyclonic storm by May 12 morning.
