KOLKATA: A cyclone is set to form over east-central Bay of Bengal on Wednesday, triggering heavy showers and gusty winds along the Bengal-Odisha coast and across south Bengal on Oct 23 and 24 (Wednesday and Thursday).
The city is likely to receive moderate rain on Wednesday, which could intensify into heavier showers on Thursday.
The coastal districts — Howrah, East and West Midnapore and North and South 24 Parganas — are also likely to be lashed by heavy rain between Wednesday and Friday.
The cyclone will be called "Dana" (a beautiful, precious pearl in Arabic), a name given by Qatar.
A bulletin issued by the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) on Sunday said Saturday's cyclonic circulation over central Andaman Sea lay over North Andaman Sea in the early morning of Sunday and persisted over the region till the afternoon.
"Under its influence, a low-pressure area is very likely to form over east-central Bay of Bengal and adjoining north Andaman Sea during the next 24 hours. It is very likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a depression by Oct 22 morning and into a cyclonic storm by Oct 23 over east-central Bay of Bengal," the bulletin said.
It added that the cyclonic storm is likely to move north-westwards to reach northwest Bay of Bengal, off the Odisha-Bengal coast, by Oct 24 morning. The storm is likely to intensify into a "severe cyclonic storm", said India Meteorological Department (IMD) DG Mrutyunjay Mohapatra.
IMD, however, has ruled out the possibility of the impending cyclonic storm intensifying into a super cyclonic storm or extremely super cyclonic storm. "However, according to the prediction made on Sunday, the cyclonic storm may intensify into a severe cyclonic storm. The wind speed may reach up to 100kmph to 120kmph," an IMD statement said.
"Its path, wind speed and intensity will be predicted after the system intensifies into depression from low pressure," said RMC weather scientist H R Biswas. "But it's now clear that it will head north-northwestwards towards the Bengal-Odisha coast. We expect maximum impact on south Bengal between Oct 23 and 26," he added.
The last cyclone to hit the Bengal coast was Remal, on May 26. It had made landfall between Sagar Island in Bengal and Khepupara in Bangladesh as a severe cyclonic storm. Remal had a windspeed of 100kmph to 130kmph, causing 84 deaths.
The IMD issued a warning for the Odisha-Bengal coastal area, saying, "Squally wind speed reaching 40kmph to 50kmph gusting to 60kmph is very likely to commence from Oct 23 evening. It would gradually increase, becoming gale wind speed, reaching 100kmph to 110kmph gusting to 120kmph from Oct 24 night till Oct 25 morning."
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the Andaman Sea till Monday (Oct 21), Central Bay of Bengal till Oct 23 and north Bay of Bengal till Oct 25 along the Odisha, Bengal and Andhra coasts. If they are already at sea, they must return to the coast by Monday, the IMD has advised.
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