Another cyclone is in the making on the Bay of Bengal, the Met office said on Monday.
The impact on Calcutta, as of now, is likely to be limited to a rise in the Celsius, said Met officials.
“A low-pressure area has formed over south Andaman Sea and adjoining Malacca Strait. It is likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a depression over southeast Bay of Bengal around November 29. Thereafter, it is likely to move northwestwards and intensify further into a cyclonic storm over southeast Bay of Bengal during subsequent 48 hours (by December 1),” a Met report said.
If the system intensifies into a cyclone, it will be called Michaung, a name given by Myanmar.
If the storm sticks to the projected track, it is likely to hit land in the southern coast of India, said a Met official. But the current path does not mention anything about a recurve, a change in direction that cyclones on the Bay
have usually been associated with.
“If the cyclone sticks to the projected path, it is likely to go towards Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu. But if it takes a recurve, then Bangladesh and Myanmar could be the storm’s destinations. As of now, it is unlikely to come too close to the Bengal coast. However, nothing can be ruled out,” said G.K. Das, director, India Meteorological Department, Calcutta.
Met officials are hoping for more clarity to emerge on the storm’s possible track on Wednesday, by when it is supposed to have come to the southeast Bay.
The immediate forecast for Calcutta is a rise in the minimum temperature.
The minimum temperature on Monday was 19.5 degrees, two notches above normal. By Friday, when the system is expected to have turned into a cyclone, the minimum temperature is tipped to touch 22 degrees Celsius.
The moisture content is likely to go up. The sky is likely to remain cloudy in phases. But as of now, there is little chance of rain in Calcutta,” said a Met official.
The rising moisture content will weaken the northwesterly winds. Northerly and northeasterly winds are likely to gain the upper hand, said the official.