Heavy rainfall lashed the Andaman and Nicobar islands as the deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a cyclone on Sunday, packing wind speed of more than 75 kmph, and is expected to get stronger, the weather office said. However, it is expected to fizzle out next week without making a landfall.
Under the influence of the cyclone, northern Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts are expected to experience heavy winds and rains from Tuesday, the weather office said.
The cyclonic storm ‘Asani’, Sinhanlese for ‘wrath’, lay centred over southeast Bay of Bengal 380 km west of Port Blair in the Andaman Islands at 5:30 am on Sunday, the weather office said.
It is very likely to move northwestwards and intensify further into a Severe Cyclonic Storm over east central Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in a bulletin issued at 8:30 am. According to the track of the cyclone forecast by IMD, the cyclone was very likely to continue to move northwestwards till May 10 evening and reach West central and adjoining Northwest Bay of Bengal off North Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts.
Thereafter, it is very likely to recurve north-northeastwards and move towards Northwest Bay of Bengal off Odisha coast, it said. According to the cyclone trackers, the weather system is expected to be at its strongest, packing wind speed of 60 knots (111 km per hour), on Monday with its fury on full display in the Bay of Bengal.
The severe cyclonic storm is expected to start weakening gradually from Tuesday as it moves towards the coasts of northern Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Coastal districts of Odisha and the southern part of West Bengal, including the state capital Kolkata, are likely to be lashed by light to moderate rain from Tuesday, the IMD said.
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea and along and off West Bengal and Odisha coasts from May 10 till further notice. The sea conditions near the Odisha coast will become rough on May 9 and rougher on May 10. The wind speed in the sea will increase to 80-90 kmph on May 10.
Cyclone Unlikely to Make Landfall
“We have not yet made any forecast on where it will make landfall. We have also not mentioned anything on the possible wind speed during the landfall,” IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.
The Well Marked Low Pressure Area (WM LPA) over Southeast Bay of Bengal and adjoining Andaman Sea moved northwestwards, concentrated into a depression on Saturday morning and is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm by Sunday evening.
The WM LPA lay centred at 5:30 pm about 280 km west of Car Nicobar (Nicobar Islands), 300 km south-southwest of Port Blair (Andaman Islands), 1,140 km southeast of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and 1,180 km south-southeast of Puri (Odisha), the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
It is very likely to move northwestwards and intensify into a cyclonic storm over eastcentral Bay of Bengal on Sunday.
Earlier in March, a deep depression skirting Andaman & Nicobar Islands had not intensified into a cyclonic storm even though IMD had been predicting it four days or more prior to the d-date.
The wind shear, faster winds and sea surface temperatures are some of the factors that affect the movement of such systems.
Odisha Ready to Evacuate Lakhs
“There are 862 permanent cyclone centres in 18 districts. These centres can accommodate 1.5 to 1.6 lakh people with adherence to Covid-19 rules. Likewise, 6,661 buildings have been identified as temporary centres which can house about 6 lakh people. Thus, we have the arrangements to evacuate 7.5 lakh people. Though the prediction by IMD so far has given some kind of relief, we have not lowered our preparedness,” Odisha special relief commissioner Pradeep Jena told the Hindustan Times.
Fresh Spell of Heatwave
After a brief spell of relief, heatwave conditions are expected to return in parts of northwest and central India, the India Meteorological Department predicted.
Particularly in Rajasthan, a heatwave is likely to be witnessed in the districts of Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaipur and Bharatpur divisions from May 8, and the maximum temperatures in these regions are expected to be between 44 and 45 degrees Celsius, the weather office said.
On Saturday, Banswara was the hottest place, recording 45.3 degrees Celsius followed by 45 degrees Celsius in Barmer, 44.6 degrees Celsius in Phalodi, 44.5 degrees Celsius in Bikaner and 44.4 degrees Celsius each in Jaisalmer, Nagaur and Dungarpur.
All major cities across Rajasthan recorded maximum temperature above 41 degrees Celsius on Saturday, the weather office said. It added that during the next two to three days, relatively strong dusty winds and thunderstorms are also likely in the districts of Bikaner and Jodhpur divisions. Light rain and thunderstorms were witnessed in some places of the state in the last 24 hours. The highest maximum temperature for Friday was recorded at 43.6 degrees Celsius in Barmer, the weather office said.
Meanwhile, western Odisha continued to reel under intense summer heat on Saturday, while the weather was comparatively cooler in other regions of the state, the Met office said here. Ten weather stations in the region, four more than Friday, recorded a temperature of 40 degrees celsius or more as the maximum rose by around 1-3 degrees in a few places, it said. Bolangir town recorded the highest temperature at 41.8 degrees, followed by 41.5 degrees in Nuapada.
In the capital city, the temperature settled at 36 degrees in the capital and 36.6 in Cuttack, the weather office said. There will be no large change in maximum temperature over the next two-three days, it added.
Heatwave conditions are predicted over Rajasthan on May 7 to May 9, and over south Haryana, Delhi, southwest Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha region of Maharashtra on May 8 and May 9, it said.
Odisha, Andhra Pradesh Likely to Not Face Landfall: IMD
In a big relief to the people and administration, the IMD on Saturday announced that the cyclonic storm brewing in the Bay of Bengal will not make landfall in either Odisha or Andhra Pradesh, but will move parallel to the coast.
Light to moderate rainfall is likely at a few places with heavy rainfall at isolated places over coastal Odisha and adjoining areas of north coastal Andhra Pradesh from May 10 evening, while rainfall at a few places with heavy rainfall at isolated places is likely over coastal Odisha and adjoining coastal areas of north Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal on May 11.
Sea conditions would be choppy and fishermen have been warned not to venture into sea around the coastal areas.
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