Kolkata, Jun 18 (PTI) Rains lashed Kolkata and its neighbouring districts on Saturday as the Southwest monsoon entered southern West Bengal, weather officials said.

Intermittent showers were reported from different parts of the city since 8 am, causing traffic snarls at Ruby crossing, Tollygunge, Exide crossing, Esplanade, Vivekananda Road and Shyambazar five-point crossing, police said.

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Southwest monsoon has advanced into some parts of southern West Bengal, Regional Met Centre director Sanjib Bandyopadhyay told PTI.

"Eastern parts of Northern Limit of Monsoon (NLM) passes through Haldia, Bardhaman, Dumka, Banka and Motihari. Entire North Bengal was already covered yesterday 17.06.2022," the weather office said in a statement.

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Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected in parts of Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts in the next 24 hours, it added.

Under the impact of an east-west trough, heavy to very heavy rainfall was recorded in sub-Himalayan West Bengal.

In the 24 hours till 8.30 am, 35 cm rainfall was recorded in Buxa and 23 cm rainfall in Hasimara.

The weather office warned of landslides in Darjeeling and Kalimpong due to intense rains, and a rise in water levels of Teesta, Jaldhaka, Sankosh and Torsha.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)