Squall, rain bring down temperature in Kolkata

Normal life was temporarily thrown out of gear this afternoon when a high-intensity squall accompanied by rain uprooted trees and snapped cables, leading to chaos and traffic snarls in parts of the city.

The one-minute-long squall, with a wind speed of up to 92 km per hour, was preceded by another 56kmph gust, Regional Met director G K Das said.

The squall, accompanied by moderate rain in different parts of the city, led to a fall in temperature from 32.4 degree Celsius to 25.5 degree Celsius, Das said.

The Met department recorded 19.8 mm rainfall between 3 pm and 4.20 pm, he said.

"Traffic came to a standstill in different areas of the city as trees fell like nine pins during the second squall. At least 25 trees fell in different parts of the city due to the gale," a police officer said.

There was no report of ant injury owing to the storm, he said.

A vehicle, which was parked on the premises of a private hospital in Burrabazar area, was partially crushed when a tree fell on it, he added.