Kolkata: The city has received 5% excess rain this monsoon, while south Bengal recorded an excess of 2%. The city, however, had a deficit of 12% in July while south Bengal received an excess of 14%. The July deficit in Kolkata has been attributed to more localized showers which were often ill-distributed. Most wet spells have been triggered by the monsoon trough that remained close to south Bengal and local factors, rather than low-pressures, said weathermen.Kolkata received 340.8 mm of rain in July against a normal count of 387.4 mm. “Since Kolkata is not a very big area, rain triggered by local factors were not heavy uniformly across the city. While North and South 24 Parganas recorded normal rain, Kolkata had a slight deficit in July,” said Sourish Bandyopadhyay, weather scientist at RMC.The beginning of monsoon was a wet one, with Kolkata recording a rain count of over 350mm in June. It was the wettest June in the last five years. The city had a monthly rain surplus of around 29%.In July, south Bengal received 344.8 mm against a normal of 391.7 mm, a 4% excess. Between June 1 and July 31, Kolkata received 705 mm of rain. During the same period, south Bengal received 606.4 mm. “Monsoon started on a slow note but then picked up by June-end. It has slowed down relatively since low-pressures have been skirting Gangetic Bengal. Most such systems have hit Odisha while Bengal has received rain either from the outer fringes of the systems or while they were passing the Bengal coast. That is why the coastal districts have received heavier rain than the other parts of south Bengal,” said Bandopadhyay.While northern and central India experienced intense downpours under the main trough, Bengal and surrounding eastern regions benefited from low-pressure feeds and high atmospheric moisture levels originating in the Bay of Bengal.
