The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have already been put on alert as the current track of the cyclone is expected to be very close to the islands. (Shutterstock)
Terming as “unusual” the surprisingly cold weather in northwest India, the IMD chief said conditions are now becoming favorable for the return of heat waves in the country.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) chief Dr M Mohapatra said that the storm brewing in the Bay of Bengal could turn into a very severe cyclone with winds of up to 120 km/hr over the sea.
Indicating the start of the cyclone season, the Meteorological Department on Monday confirmed the formation of a low pressure system over the southeast Bay of Bengal. The system is expected to intensify into a ‘Depression’ on 9th May and gradually intensify into a cyclonic storm during the night of 10th May.
In an exclusive interview to News18, the IMD chief said that the system is likely to move north-northwestwards towards central Bay of Bengal by May 11. km/h over central Bay of Bengal on 11 May. Thereafter, it will change direction and start moving north-northeastwards, approaching Bangladesh-Myanmar coast.
However, it will continue to gain strength while moving towards Bangladesh coast and its maximum intensity will be known only after full development into a cyclone.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have already been put on alert as the current track of the cyclone is expected to be very close to the islands. The Meteorological Department has warned of ‘extremely heavy’ rainfall of more than 20 cm in some areas during the next three days.
As the system strengthens, the sea condition over east-central Bay of Bengal, southeast Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea is also likely to deteriorate. The IMD has issued a warning for very rough seas posing a risk to any kind of marine activity in the coming days.
Fishermen have been asked not to venture into the sea. Winds reaching 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph are likely to affect Andaman Sea and Andaman Islands on May 12, while they are likely to affect east-west Bengal at 80-90 kmph due to the cyclone. Gusts can reach up to 100 kmph in the central Gulf. Some models suggest it may intensify rapidly but it is likely to move away from the mainland.
North India’s “abnormal” heat
In the far north, the weather continues to surprise. About a week into May, with temperatures still remaining below 40℃ in major parts of the country, which is known for scorching heat, rains continued in the hill states. Delhi recorded the coldest night in four decades on May 3 with the minimum temperature plunging to 15.8 degrees Celsius.
“Definitely, it’s unusual,” said the head of India’s Meteorological Department. “The temperature has been below normal for the whole week. This type of weather is definitely not expected in May.”
However, the sudden change was brought about by active Western Disturbances which pass over Northwest India more frequently. They got moisture support from the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, the senior scientist said.
“This year, we saw a lot of thunderstorm activity, except for the north-eastern states, which mostly witnessed it. Therefore, the entire country witnessed above normal pre-monsoon rains. But now the mercury has started rising again. Heatwave conditions may occur over some parts of the country – starting from Gangetic West Bengal, then extending to Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand,” Dr Mohapatra said.
The IMD has already issued a heatwave warning for Gangetic West Bengal for the next five days. “As the situation develops, it is now expected that temperatures will rise everywhere, but it will be significant over the eastern part of the country, which will lead to heatwaves,” said the senior scientist.
As the effects of climate change intensify, weather has also started showing increased variability, the IMD chief highlighted. “In addition to rising temperatures, there has been increased variability in weather, so we can expect occasional below-normal temperatures, as well as more frequent thunderstorms. But overall, the basic trend is that temperatures are rising And the duration, frequency and intensity of storms are also increasing.”
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