IMD Issues Severe Cyclone Alert for Andhra Pradesh and South Peninsula

A developing cyclonic system in the Bay of Bengal is expected to cause severe weather conditions across the South Peninsula. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), isolated extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 20 cm is forecast over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Kerala, and Mahe over the next two days.

Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam are projected to bear the brunt of the weather system on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Telangana also expecting heavy rain on Wednesday. A very severe cyclonic storm is expected to make landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast by Wednesday. Squally weather, gale-force winds, and rough seas are anticipated over the western and central Bay of Bengal starting Tuesday, affecting the Andhra Pradesh and adjoining Odisha coasts.

The IMD reported that a well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay intensified into a depression by Sunday morning. The system moved slowly at 5 km/hr before virtually stalling over the south-east Bay of Bengal. At 5:30 am, the depression lay about 440 km north-northwest of Sri Vijaya Puram in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and 880 km east-southeast of Visakhapatnam, 980 km east-southeast of Kakinada, 1,080 km east of Machilipatnam, and 1,150 km east of Bapatla along the Andhra Pradesh coast.

The system is forecast to turn southwards, strengthen into a deep depression, and recurve west-northwest over the east-central and south-east Bay. It is expected to intensify into a cyclone on Monday and become a severe cyclonic storm by Tuesday morning. Moving northwestwards, it could reach very severe cyclonic status by Wednesday morning, crossing the coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam, along with Yanam, later that forenoon. Maximum sustained winds of 115–125 km/hr, gusting to 140 km/hr, are forecast at landfall.

The slow movement of the system over warm sea-surface temperatures hovering around 30°C provides a longer window to gather energy and moisture. The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center noted that conditions are conducive to rapid intensification as the storm approaches the coast. Additionally, Google DeepMind upgraded the probability to 100 per cent for the emerging cyclone to intensify further into an extremely severe cyclone with peak sustained winds of 215 km/hr, or potentially a super cyclone with 240 km/hr winds, prior to landfall.

"Severe weather events and natural disasters present significant logistical and operational challenges for businesses, supply chains, and local commerce in affected regions. Enterprises operating in coastal areas, particularly across Andhra Pradesh and neighboring states, must prioritize employee safety and activate business continuity plans to mitigate potential disruptions caused by heavy rainfall and high-velocity winds." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes