Kolkata, July 4, 2026 weather authorities have placed two districts of West Bengal on the highest state of alert as a low-pressure pocket rising over the Bay of Bengal threatens to drench the southern belt of the region in a torrent of heavy wet weather this weekend.
The system is on track to become a deep depression as it moves closer to the coastline of Odisha and West Bengal. Forecasters say the system is expected to produce heavy to extremely heavy rains across south Bengal, with heavy to extremely heavy showers and thunderstorms and squally winds over the next few days.
The most severe warning category has been reserved for South 24 Parganas and Purba Medinipur, so that residents and officials there should be ready to act. One level down, an orange advisory is now in place for Jhargram, Paschim Medinipur and Howrah, which means local bodies need to prepare for rough weather.
The state capital hasn’t escaped the predictions either. Kolkata and its surrounding belt are under an orange advisory as well, with meteorologists warning of heavy showers, thunder and wind gusts that can hit 50-60 kmph in some areas. Saturday already had grey and overcast skies in the city, an early indication of a wetter stretch to come.
Forecasters warn that things could get worse before they get better. Sunday is the day of greatest concern and heavy rains are expected in South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Jhargram, Purulia and Bankura. For the rest of south Bengal districts, it will be very wet.
Bengal is not the only state facing this issue the same disturbance is rattling neighbouring Odisha too. There the weather office has flagged five districts - Kandhamal, Boudh, Angul, Sambalpur, and Sonepur as the most urgent warning region after the low-pressure zone over the northwest Bay of Bengal had evolved into a well-defined system.
Bhubaneswar meteorologists expect that it will move west-northwest through northern Odisha and into Chhattisgarh in the next 3 days with some very heavy rain in the red flagged areas. Odisha is predicted to experience a wet weather outlook in a wet spell for the next few days.
As for the ground, district administrations in the affected parts of Bengal have activated continuous monitoring, a routine pre-major weather event as they must prepare for flooding, waterlogged roads and disrupted transit. Fishing communities along the coast have also been told to stay alert and aware of the choppy conditions and strong winds connected with the system.
Officials are urging people in the alert areas to skip non-essential travel during the worst rain windows, stay away from flood-prone and low-lying areas, and monitor IMD bulletins as the system develops over the next two to three days.
As the monsoon progresses across eastern India, this Bay of Bengal system signals that the season’s toughest test may still lie just ahead for Bengal and Odisha.
