Kolkata Weather Update: The monsoon is finally making a comeback! It will start in Northeast India and then spread across East, Central, and North India early next week. Expect widespread rain and thunderstorms, with some places getting heavy showers
For most of July, the monsoon was like a guest who arrived but then vanished. The clouds disappeared, the plains sweltered in the heat, and the rain was stuck in the Himalayan foothills. But now, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) says the wait is finally ending. The monsoon is gearing up for a powerful return.
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Weather
The monsoon's revival will kick off in Northeast India. From there, it's expected to spread to East, Central, and North India early next week. We can expect widespread rain and thunderstorms, with heavy showers in some areas. For the Gangetic plains and Central India, which have been dealing with sticky, uncomfortable weather for weeks, this will be the first real relief this month.
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Monsoon
So, what's causing this monsoon comeback? The main reason is a new low-pressure area forming over the Bay of Bengal. A low-pressure area is a zone in the atmosphere where air rises. As the air moves up, it acts like a giant vacuum cleaner, pulling in moist air from the sea and turning it into rain-bearing clouds.
As this low-pressure system moves from the east coast over to Central India, it will pull the monsoon 'trough' back to its normal position. This trough is a long line of low pressure across North India that acts as the monsoon's backbone. The rain follows wherever this line is. For the past few weeks, this backbone had shifted to the Himalayan foothills, which is why the mountains got heavy rain while the plains stayed dry. With the trough moving south again, moist winds from both the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea are expected to push deep inland, bringing widespread rain.
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Weak Monsoon
So why was the monsoon so weak in July? Weather scientists call this a 'break monsoon' phase. It's a known pattern where the monsoon trough shifts north, leaving Central India dry. This month, very few low-pressure systems formed in the Bay of Bengal, and the moist winds from the Arabian Sea were weak. This has resulted in a nationwide rainfall deficit of 24%. India has received only 244.6 mm of rain so far, against a normal of 323.1 mm.
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Hot
The reason it feels so hot even without much rain is that the humidity is still high. The sun heats up the ground, and because of the high moisture in the air, your sweat can't evaporate properly. This is why the 'heat index' or 'feels-like' temperature has crossed 40 degrees Celsius in many cities. The long dry spell makes things worse. Studies show that when the soil is dry, the sun's energy heats the air instead of evaporating water, pushing temperatures even higher.
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Next Week Update
No, it's not. Next week's rain will definitely bring down temperatures and help farmers sow crops like paddy, soybean, cotton, and pulses. However, to make up for the big rainfall deficit, we need continuous and widespread rain for several weeks. The real test for this year's monsoon is just beginning. The month of August will ultimately decide how the monsoon season pans out.
