Digha, West Bengal tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 03:30 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Asia/Kolkata local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Next spring tide on Wed 06 May (range 2.6m). Next neap on Sat 09 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Digha is West Bengal's most visited beach destination, 185 km southwest of Kolkata, and the thing that sets it apart from most of India's resort beaches is the tide. The Bay of Bengal semidiurnal tide at Digha runs 3.5 to 4.5 m — a range that transforms the beach between high and low water in a way that visitors not expecting it find startling. At high water there is barely any dry sand; waves push to within a few metres of the concrete promenade. Six hours later, 300–400 m of flat wet sand is exposed, stretching toward a line of water barely visible from the seafront. That transformation is not a hazard — it is the defining feature of the coast. Understanding when the tide is coming in and going out is the single most useful thing any visitor to Digha can know. High water at Digha typically lasts 45–60 minutes at a relatively stable level before the ebb begins. The ebb runs for roughly 6 hours and is strongest in the first 2–3 hours, draining the broad flat quickly. Low water holds for a similar brief window before the flood returns. The timing shifts by approximately 50 minutes later each day, which means a low-water window that falls at 08:00 on one day falls near 09:00 the following morning. For activities that depend on the exposed flat — shellfish collecting, beach walking, the Mandarmani beach-road — the low-water timing governs the entire plan. The tidal flat at Digha is productive for shellfish. The 2–3 hours around low water expose the muddy-sand zone where small clams, cockles, and shore crabs concentrate in the upper sediment layer. Local collectors — most of them women working in family groups — spread across the flat within minutes of the water receding to the point where the sand is firm enough to walk on. Collection is by hand and small rake; the clams are carried in baskets and sold at the seafront market by early afternoon. For visiting families, this is one of the few places in India where the mechanics of tidal food production are visible from the beach promenade without needing a boat. Shankarpur fishing harbour, 15 km east along the coast, handles the mechanised fleet that does the serious offshore work. The trawlers targeting prawn and croaker in the Bay of Bengal depart on the ebb tide — usually in the early pre-dawn hours — and return on the flood, typically arriving between 14:00 and 18:00 depending on the season and the day's fishing grounds. The harbour entrance is tide-sensitive; boats time their passage to arrive with at least 1.5 m of water over the bar. The landing activity at Shankarpur is worth a visit in the afternoon when the fleet returns — the unloading, icing, and auction sequence runs quickly and the volume of catch from a productive day is substantial. Mandarmani beach, 20 km northeast of Digha, has a specific and well-known feature: during low water, the beach is firm enough and wide enough to drive on for approximately 20 km. In effect, the exposed tidal flat functions as a highway for the 3–4 hours around low water. Local vehicles — including resort cars and tourist taxis — use the beach as a road between Mandarmani and neighbouring beach settlements. The window is governed by the same tidal cycle as Digha, with low water typically producing driveable conditions from about 1.5 hours after the ebb begins until roughly 1 hour before the flood returns the water. Attempting the beach-road near the end of the driveable window is a common mistake — the flood tide advances quickly across a flat beach, and vehicles caught by the incoming water have had to be abandoned. For photographers, the Digha tidal cycle offers two interesting windows. The hour before low water, when the flat is still draining and shallow pools remain on the exposed sand, produces reflective light that the full-ebb dry flat does not. The hour before high water, when the sea advances across the flat in thin sheets, creates a different set of geometric conditions. Sunrise at Digha falls to the south-east and catches the wet flat at low water when the tide is out in the early morning — the optimal combination for beach photography. Seasonal context matters at Digha. The monsoon (June through September) makes beach use impractical; the sea runs grey and heavy surf closes the beach intermittently. The post-monsoon period (October through February) is the best time for beach visits — the tidal range at its largest, the sea calmer, and the shellfish collecting most productive. March and April see increasing heat and the first pre-monsoon storms, but the beach is still usable in the morning hours. The Digha seafront itself is heavily developed — hotels, stalls, and food vendors run the length of the promenade. The beach to the west of the main access, toward Old Digha, is quieter and the shellfish collecting more active. Tide data for Digha comes from the Open-Meteo Marine API, a gridded model product. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes, height accuracy ±0.3 m — usable for trip planning, not for navigation.