The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday announced that it expects the storm brewing in the southeast Bay of Bengal to intensify and turn into Cyclone Mocha by 5:30 pm today. The cyclone, however, is unlikely to hit the Indian coastline.

The cyclone is likely to make landfall between Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Kyaukpyu in Myanmar on Sunday morning, May 14.

The weather system started as a well-marked low-pressure area, which concentrated into a depression on Tuesday evening, packing wind speeds of 45-55 km/h and gusting to 65 km/h over the southeast Bay of Bengal.

The weather office expects the system to intensify into a deep depression by 5:30 am on Wednesday and turn into Cyclone Mocha within the next 12 hours, packing wind speeds of 80-90 km/h and gusting to 100 km/h.

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The storm is expected to move initially north-northwestwards until May 12 morning and later towards the Bangladesh-Myanmar coasts.

Fishermen and operators of small ships, boats and trawlers are advised not to venture into the southeast and adjoining central Bay of Bengal from Tuesday. The weather office also asked those who are over the east-central Bay of Bengal and north Andaman Sea to return during the day.

The weather system is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by Thursday morning with wind speeds gusting to 110 km/h and turn into a very severe cyclonic storm packing wind speed of 130 km/h.

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"Thereafter, it is likely to cross southeast Bangladesh and north Myanmar coasts between Cox's Bazaar and Kyaukpyu around the forenoon of Sunday,” the weather office said.

The MeT Department said that light to moderate rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy precipitation at isolated places is likely over Andaman and Nicobar Islands from Tuesday to Thursday.

Tripura and Mizoram are likely to experience heavy rainfall at isolated places on Saturday and heavy to very heavy rainfall on Sunday. Nagaland, Manipur and south Assam have been warned to prepare for heavy rainfall on May 14.

In Kolkata, hot weather continued to cause discomfort on Tuesday. The IMD statement said the city recorded a maximum temperature of 38.5 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature settled at 29.5 degrees.

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The temperature in south Bengal districts hovered around 38-40 degrees Celsius and is not likely to change in the next 24 hours. The maximum humidity was 84 percent in the city and its neighbourhood. The IMD has predicted heat wave conditions in isolated pockets over West Bengal and Bihar until Thursday.

IMD Deputy Director (East) Sanjib Banerjee said the temperature is expected to rise further on Wednesday before rains begin.

According to the system of naming cyclones, the storm will be called Cyclone Mocha (Mokha), a name suggested by Yemen after the Red Sea port city Mokha, which introduced coffee to the world 500 years ago.

With agency inputs.

First Published:May 10, 2023 9:32 AM IST