May Could Further Dampen Corona-Hit Odisha Spirits; Cyclone Brewing, Says Study

Bhubaneswar: India’s coastal states have their hands full in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The last thing they now want is a cyclone to multiply their misery.

Odisha’s coastal districts have been experiencing moderate to heavy rainfall of late. But if a meteorological study is to be believed, this year’s first low pressure formation in the Bay of Bengal is likely to happen on May 1.

Indian Institute of Tropical Metereology (IITM), Pune, and US-based Global Forecast System (GFS) have developed a medal which predicts formation of low pressure area on April 30 in south-east of Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

It will then move away from the Indian coast and possibly develop into a depression, and then into a cyclonic storm heading towards Myanmar and Bangladesh, where it is likely to make landfall around May 4-5.

Odisha is seemingly out of its radar though the model predicts heavy rainfall in and around Jajpur-Bhadrak on May 2.

The Skymet Weather has also predicted formation of a cyclonic storm in the North Andaman Sea on May 1, 2020. “The system is expected to intensify to a Severe Cyclonic Storm, keeping a safe distance from the Indian coastline. The storm will gain strength further and head for Myanmar – Bangladesh coast. It is too early to preempt its landfall, but the coastline from Yangon (Myanmar) to Chittagong (Bangladesh) remains vulnerable,” it said.

Those who were hit hard by cyclone FANI last May will be praying that there is no change in this prediction and they have a reason.

In April 2019, the weatherman had initially allayed fears over FANI, stating that it was unlikely to have any impact on Odisha. Tami Nadu and Andhra Pradesh were the likely hits. The cyclone then changed direction and made landfall in Puri coast with wind speed of 185 kmph, reaching up to 200 kmph, on May 3, 2019, and caused extensive damage in the coastal areas of the state.