Intermittent rains to continue in Bengal till Panchami, authorities flag puja pandals

For Kolkata, the IMD has forecast mostly cloudy skies with light to moderate rain or thundershowers on most days through Panchami.

In a special bulletin, the IMD said a low-pressure area may develop over the east-central and adjacent north Bay of Bengal around September 25 and could intensify into a depression off the Odisha–Andhra coasts around September 26. “In view of the above systems, widespread light to moderate rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy spells is very likely over some districts of South Bengal,” the bulletin said.

The IMD has issued a mix of yellow and orange alerts for the region. In South Bengal, an orange alert covers South 24 Parganas for isolated heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds of 40–50 kmph.

Several districts, including Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, North 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Purba and Paschim Bardhaman, Murshidabad and Nadia are under yellow alert on various days through September 26 for heavy rain (7–11 cm at isolated places), thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 30–50 kmph.

The IMD said all North Bengal districts are likely to experience similar thunderstorm activity with gusty winds and isolated lightning on September 26, and have been placed under yellow alert.

Beyond land warnings, the IMD has flagged rough seas in the Bay of Bengal until September 26 and strongly advised fishermen not to venture into the open sea because of strong winds and high waves.