IMD Issues Widespread Rain and Fishermen Warning as Cyclonic System Strengthens
NEW DELHI: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has announced that a deep depression over the southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm. The weather system is predicted to escalate further into a severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday morning, prompting an urgent alert for coastal states.
The cyclonic storm, which formed over the Bay of Bengal, is now tracking a path that suggests it will undergo a critical change in its movement. According to the IMD, the system is likely to recurve and move nearly north-eastwards across the East Central Arabian Sea during the next 24 hours.
In anticipation of the storm’s impact, the Met department has issued heavy rainfall warnings across a wide swathe of the country.
Coastal Andhra Pradesh has been singled out for a prediction of extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places.
Heavy to Very Heavy Rainfall is also estimated over a large area, including: Coastal Karnataka, East Rajasthan, Gujarat State, Kerala & Mahe, Odisha, Rayalaseema, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, Chhattisgarh, Interior Karnataka, Konkan and Goa, Telangana, West Madhya Pradesh.
In a major safety alert, the IMD has strongly urged fishermen not to venture into the Southwest-adjoining-central Bay of Bengal, as well as along and off the coasts of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Yanam, and Odisha till Wednesday. The weather agency has also issued a directive to all those currently out at sea to return to the coast immediately to ensure their safety.