Geography and Weather of Siliguri

Siliguri is the largest city in the North Bengal. It is the second largest city of West Bengal. Siliguri is situated at the latitude of 26’72” and the longitude is 88’41”. The city of Siliguri is situated at the foothill of the Himalayan mountain range in the plain. This city connects the hill towns (Gangtok, Rangpo, Kalimpong, Kurseong, Mirik and Darjeeling) with the rest part of the India. The Mahananda River (also known as Mahanadi) flows past Siliguri. There are three distinct seasons at Siliguri. These are summer, winter and monsoon.

The average temperature of summer is comparatively low and rarely exceeds 35°C. It is hottest from the month of May to mid June. As Siliguri lies in the shadows of Himalayas, it is comparatively cooler than the central and southern regions of West Bengal. The cool wind blowing from the Himalayas provides respite to an otherwise hot and humid climate. It is the best season for the tourism of Siliguri. Tourists from all over the world choose this season to enjoy the light breeze from the Himalaya.

The monsoon season in Siliguri starts from mid-June and lasts up to September. A large variation of rainfall can be observed in the climate of Siliguri. The annual average rainfall ranges from 2600mm to 4000 mm. Heavy rainfall occurs in the month of July and August; intense rainfall up to 200 mm per day has been recorded in these periods in the past. Sometimes water logging occurs in some places but Siliguri’s topography does not allow large areas getting flooded.

The winter of Siliguri continues during December to February. . Winters are relatively cool and temperature ranges from 3°C to15°C. From mid-December to early January the temperature drops down to 8-10º C. Another feature of the winter of Siliguri is the dense fog with light rain. The climate of the Siliguri makes the other two “T” – Tea and Timber possible along with the third “T” Tourism. The soothing condition of climate really makes the Siliguri a piece of heaven of the earth.