Weather

So this is gonna be a short page, but will also be like one of the most influential.

KGP weather can be roughly divided into:

• Humid Rainy Hell - July to Oct

• Autumn - Oct

• Winter - Nov to Feb

• Freak show - Feb/Mar

• Spring - Mar

• Summer Hell - Mar to Apr

• Summer Vacay - May to July

Months having combos of these seasons is not rare, and the best plan is to be prepared for anything.

Humid Rainy Hell

This lasts from late July to about Early October.

 Characterised by relatively hot campus (around 30-ish), made so much worse by the humidity (100% most days). Fans are pretty much useless if you're sweating, so baths are your friend. The only way to truly escape this is by AC, which is mainly there in the Nalanda Classroom Complex, and if you're lucky, Library. 

But you don't escape the rains either. It rains for about half the week, and the rains are pretty intense and last for hours at end. Hence why the raincoat & umbrella is needed. Even when it rains, it's humid & hot though, I have no clue how.

For a comparison, the humidity & heat is worse than Peak Chennai Summers IMO.

Autumn

In the middle of October, for about 2-3 weeks, the perfect weather comes to exist. Around 20 degrees, low humidity, and a few drizzles here and there. Enjoy it as much as you can, it won't last.

Winter

Technically lasts from November to February, it has a lot of Variation.

There's a sudden temperature drop in November, reaching mid-teens. Fog starts to become common, with minimal humidity. Most people would start wearing hoodies now, though it's still manageable with thick clothes.

December drops to single-digit temperatures, and psuedo-snow starts to fall. You might stay here for Inter-IIT, and if you do, you'll definitively need winter wear. 

January feels extremely cold (usually around 12-16 C), especially if you're returning to campus. If you're like me, you can just about survive without jackets, but cycling kills everyone not wearing one. My recommendation is to buy one now, but preferably before, since a lot of fests will happen nowadays, and you'll wanna spend time outside of your room. The fog in the mornings are extremely intense now.

February is a cool winter, with temperature staying below/about 20 C, along with some light drizzles. Coats will still stay on, but you know spring is coming soon.

Freak Shows

In February-March, the weather & rains get supercharged. There will be a couple days with extremely intense rain (including but not limited to some epic Transformer Lightning Strikes), but the real shocker will be the random Hailstorm. Happening just before midsems, the hailstorm damaged and brought down entire trees everywhere in campus EXCEPT WHERE THE GODDAMN EXAMS TAKE PLACE. So don't worry, even god wants you to write your exams.

Spring

Just like Autumn, this is extremely short. For about 15 days in early-mid march, the climate will be perfect: 20-25 C, No Fog, Just enough humidity for you to sweat with a workout, and the occasional rains.

Hold this memory close for the upcoming hell.

Summer Hell

The temperatures will slowly but surely increase over the later & first week of April, reaching about 35-40C in late april. Luckily the humidity isn't that much, so even though the temperature is really high, you can manage with fans. That being said, I was only able to survive due to the AC that ran for like 20 days continuously in LBS Library. 

The humidity will continue increasing though, so while it won't match August, it will still be uncomfortably sweaty, with the temperatures being worse. Double baths will again be your friend. 

Kal Baishaki

The summer thunderstorms, these often start unpredictably & very quickly, and last for a few hours. They become semi common (weekly once or twice) by the end of April, and are honestly a lifesaver.  They occur all over Bengal, and are apparently caused by the clash of hot air from inner India & humid air from the bay of bengal.

These can & do cause issues when driving (my friend almost missed his flight cause of the rains slowing down the car) so please leave early for any train/flight in Kolkata. 

Summer Vacation

Why?

Just why?

The worst of the summer hell => Temperature, and the worst of the humid hell => humidity combine to give an effective temperature of 40-45 C, basically just roasting you.

That being said, every AC in campus will be switched on, so you can just about survive.