Cyclone impact: Brace for a rainy Tuesday

By Maqsood Maniyar

Bengaluru: The depression in the Bay of Bengal that is likely to intensify into a cyclone will cause rains in Bengaluru on Tuesday, according to India Meteorological Department (IMD) scientist Geeta Agnihotri.

She said a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal has developed in to a depression. It is likely to intensify into a cyclone on Sunday and make landfall on the east coast on Tuesday. She said coastal Andhra Pradesh would be the worst hit, but it would also affect other parts of peninsular India, including Bengaluru.

“On May 10, it is expected to be a full-blown cyclonic storm. As far as Karnataka is concerned, since Bengaluru lies in the centre, in between Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, I expect light to moderate rainfall to continue,” Agnihotri said.

She said that the system had intensified into a depression and lay somewhere near south Andaman right now.

“It has moved northwest and now it has become a depression,” the scientist said.

Second cyclone in Bay of Bengal
This is the second cyclone to occur in the Bay of Bengal in about 45 days. The fi rst one was cyclone Asani which hit Andaman on March 23. Agnihotri said climate change is causing frequent cyclones in the Bay of Bengal, adding that it was common in the summers. “March to May is the season when cyclonic storms form. It is not very unusual for cyclones to form in the Bay of Bengal. It is actually climatology and not due to climate change,” she said.