Kolkata, April 9 : Following overnight rain, the Met office on Thursday predicted rain accompanied by thunderstorms over Kolkata and south Bengal districts for rest of the day and Friday.

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata's Alipore said that there is an axial line over Gangetic West Bengal stretching from Telangana.

Due to this, a large amount of water vapour is entering from the Bay of Bengal, due to which frequent thunderstorms are occurring.

After Wednesday's thunderstorms, Kolkata and rest of south Bengal witnessed four consecutive days of squalls accompanied by moderate rain.

The Met office has predicted scattered rain today as well in Kolkata which could jeopardise the IPL match at Eden Gardens between Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants.

There is a possibility of scattered rain in various districts of south Bengal on Thursday and Friday. There is a possibility of rain with a windspeed of 30 to 40 kilometres per hour and thunderstorms.

It will rain in East Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, Jhargram, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas, Kolkata and West Midnapore districts.

"The rain and thunderstorms will continue for two more days due to the present weather system. After that, dry weather will prevail which will raise the temperature across the state," said a Met department official.

The weather will improve from Saturday onwards. There may be scattered rain in some districts on Monday and Tuesday, while Kolkata and surrounding districts are likely to remain dry.

The intensity of rain will also decrease in north Bengal, but the situation is favourable for scattered rain throughout the week. The temperature may increase by 4 to 6 degrees Celsius by the end of the week. However, there is no warning of a heatwave at least till mid-April.

Due to overnight rain, the mercury in Kolkata has dropped to 21.3 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature is expected to remain below 30 degrees Celsius.

/IANS