After Tauktae, another super cyclone by the name Yaas is cautioned to head towards India and hit West Bengal after May 23. The development comes at a time when the nation is already engulfed in the second wave of the COVID-19 and after super cyclone Tauktae has already uprooted thousands of houses and been the cause of death for several hundred Indians.
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On May 19, Hindustan Times took an interview of Sunitha Devi, in charge at IMD who said-
“We have indicated in our bulletin that there is a likelihood of formation of a low-pressure area over Bay of Bengal next week. In our outlook on cyclogenesis also we have indicated that the low-pressure system can intensify. As soon as it comes in our forecast skill range, we will mention it in our forecasts.”
Cyclone Yaas will be the second super cyclone to hit India in less than a week, the only difference is that while cyclone Tauktae headed towards India from the West coast, Yaas may hit the nation along its eastern coast.
Earlier today, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) released a fresh bulletin which said that a low-pressure system could form in the next 2 days. If the conditions are favourable for the low-pressure system, it may intensify and get transformed into a cyclone.
This low-pressure system will start forming somewhere close to the north of Andaman Sea from May 22 and by May 26, it could likely hit Odisha or West Bengal. The potential storm will be the second one in 2021 and the first one forming over the Bay of Bengal region.
The IMD also said that so far, the oceanic and atmospheric conditions seem appropriate for the further development of the monsoon over the Andaman Sea.
The IMD also pushed another updated which said-
“In association with the strengthening and deepening of south-westerly winds over the region, the Southwest monsoon is likely to advance over south Andaman Sea and adjoining areas of the Bay of Bengal. Other atmospheric and ocean factors in addition to the sea surface temperatures are favourable for convection.”
The weather forecasting agency has also issued a heavy rainfall warning over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands for May 22 and May 23. Further, the warning also states that heavy rainfalls will hit Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya starting May 25.
The met department has also issued warning for the fisherman as the conditions in the sea have worsened. Fishermen have been asked to not take to the sea from May 21 and those who are at the sea are asked to come back on the land before May 23.
The IMD has said that winds with speed as high as 45-55 kmph will prevail all over the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal on May 23. In the next few days, the speeds will increase to 50-60 kmph from May 23 and will transform into gale from May 24-26 over the major regions of Bay of Bengal and other regions including Odisha, Bangladesh coasts, West Bengal.
It should be noted that in 2020 around the same time another Super Cyclone named Amphan had hit West Bengal and had caused severe damage to life and property all across South Parganas, Kolkata before it made its way to Bangladesh.
Cyclone Tauktae Updates
In a devastating development, 22 people that were aboard the P305 barge which had drifted in the Tauktae aftermath are now dead. The Press Trust of India quoted Navy officials who said that the barge had sunk in the Arabian Sea on Monday evening at 7 PM.
Meanwhile reports from Gujarat are also grim as officials said that 45 people across 12 districts have due to the aftermath of the super cyclone Tauktae. According to PTI, 15 people were reported dead from the state’s Saurashtra region which was one of the worst-hit regions from Gujarat. The cyclone made a landfall on the Gujarat coast at around 1.30 AM on Tuesday evening after wreaking havoc in Maharashtra earlier.
