A severe cyclonic storm may develop next week due to a low-pressure area over the central Bay of Bengal following the formation of a fresh upper air cyclonic circulation over the North Andaman Sea, potentially bringing heavy rainfall to several regions of West Bengal and Odisha.
As per windy.com, which takes data from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts, and America’s Global Forecasting System (GFS), the low-pressure area is likely to form on October 20 and in the following days it may intensify into a depression.
However, the United States-based National Centres for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) that the the low pressure may develop into a cyclone towards the end of next week. The cyclone is likely to be named ‘Dana’, proposed by Qatar. There is still no clarity about the exact path and intensity of the storm.
The Indian Meteorological Department’s (IMD) regional centre in Kolkata’s Alipore has announced that the low-pressure area will likely cause light to moderate rainfall in the Gangetic belts of South Bengal, including in Kolkata, South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas, Birbhum, Murshidabad, and Nadia districts, on October 23 and 24.
The weather advisory also noted that sea waves might reach heights of 5 feet or more,leading to a warning for residents living in coastal areas. However, fishermen have not yet been restricted from going out into the sea.
Over the next 24 to 48 hours, light to moderate rain is expected in North Bengal’s districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri, and Alipurduar. Although rain is anticipated in the hilly regions, the weather office has informed that there is no risk of landslides or floods so far.
In Odisha, among districts that will witness heavy rain and thunderstorms include Puri, Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Rayagada, Keonjhar, etc.