In Kolkata (or Calcutta), capital of the state of West Bengal, the climate is tropical, with a sunny and pleasantly warm winter from December to February, in which, however, sometimes at night the temperature can drop below 10 °C (50 °F, better to bring a sweater and a light jacket), a very hot period before the monsoon, from March to May, in which the temperature can touch or exceed 40 °C (104 °F) in the worst moments, and a rainy season from June to mid-October, characterized by a stifling weather, widespread cloudiness and frequent rains. From mid-October to mid-November, before winter, there is a period of one month characterized by good weather and high temperatures, around 30 °C (86 °F).
Here are the average temperatures.

The monsoon season goes roughly from June 5 to October 15, but already in May (and more rarely in April), the first showers in the afternoon may occur. The total annual rainfall is 1,600 millimetres (63 inches). From November to April, the sun shines and it almost never rains.
Here is the average precipitation.

The sun in Calcutta often shines in the dry season, while in the rainy season the sky is often cloudy.

From mid-April to early December, Calcutta can be affected by cyclones, tropical storms which come from the Bay of Bengal, with a higher chance at the beginning and at the end of the period, therefore from April to June, and in October and November. The Bengal region is particularly prone to flooding, due to the conformation of the territory (we are in the immense delta of the Ganges-Brahmaputra, and the river of the city, the Hooghly, is a branch of the Ganges).



South of Calcutta, the sea is warm enough for swimming throughout the year, although it drops to 23/24 °C (73/75 °F) in January and February.

When to go

The best time to visit Kolkata is from mid-December to February; in November and in the first half of December the rains have already ceased, but sometimes cyclones can pass; in March it starts to get very hot.