Severe cyclone in Bay of Bengal to make landfall Sunday night

The Met Department has issued a red alert for the coastal districts of South and North 24 Parganas in West Bengal, forecasting wind speeds of 100 to 110 km per hour on May 26 and 90 to 100 kmph on May 27, accompanied by extremely heavy rainfall.

A depression in the Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm and make landfall between Sagar Island in West Bengal and Khepupara in Bangladesh around midnight on May 26, the Met department announced today.

This system will bring significant rainfall to the coastal districts of the state.

The Met Department's red alert for the coastal districts warns of wind speeds reaching 100 to 110 km per hour on May 26 and 90 to 100 kmph on May 27, with extremely heavy rainfall at one or two places on both days.

An orange alert has been issued for Kolkata, Howrah, and Purba Medinipur districts. These areas are expected to experience wind speeds of 80 to 90 kmph on May 26 and 70 to 80 kmph on May 27, along with heavy to very heavy rainfall at one or two locations on both days.

The depression, currently located over the central Bay of Bengal, about 660 km south-southeast of Sagar Island, is projected to intensify into a cyclonic storm by the morning of May 25, according to the Met department.

The weather office has forecast heavy rainfall in Purba Medinipur on May 25, coinciding with scheduled elections in the Tamluk and Kanti Lok Sabha constituencies in the coastal district.

Moving northward, the system is expected to develop into a severe cyclonic storm by the evening of May 25, the weather office indicated.

The severe cyclonic storm is anticipated to cross the coasts of West Bengal and Bangladesh between Sagar Island and Khepupara around midnight on May 26, the Met department stated.

This weather system is expected to bring heavy to very heavy rainfall to South and North 24 Parganas, Purba Medinipur, Kolkata, Howrah, and Hooghly districts on May 26 and May 27.

Heavy rainfall is also likely in Paschim Medinipur, Purba Bardhaman, and Nadia districts on May 26 and 27.

The weather office has advised fishermen to avoid venturing into the sea in the north Bay of Bengal until the morning of May 27.