On a Sunday morning in early May, the India Meteorological Department recorded that a deep depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal had grown into a cyclonic storm, now called Asani, still far out over open water. Such storms are among the oldest recurring hazards of the coastline, and this one is being read less as a finished event than as a question still unfolding: how it will bend, and who will be in its path. For the fishing communities and coastal towns of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, the storm's slow turn toward land is a reminder that the sea keeps its own schedule, and that preparati
Deep Depression Intensifies Into Cyclonic Storm Asani Over Bay of Bengal, Threatening Odisha and Andhra Coasts
That bend is the part of the track the coastal districts will be watching.
Mark
Asani has only just been named. Why is a storm 1,000 km from Puri already news?
Mimi
Because the forecast gives dates. Rain is expected to start on the evening of May 10, and the warnings are already tied to named districts like Ganjam, Puri and Khurda.
Mark
What is the main thing the IMD expects it to do?
Mimi
Strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm within 24 hours, move northwest until May 10 evening, then recurve north-northeastwards toward the Odisha coast.
Luke
Careful with that. Those are forecasts, phrased as 'very likely.' Only the current position and the intensification to cyclonic storm are reported as having happened.
Mark
So landfall isn't confirmed?
Luke
Nothing here says where or whether it makes landfall. The track described stays off the coast, over the sea off Odisha. How close it comes isn't in this report.
Mimi
The rain warnings are the concrete part. Yellow for Gajapati, Ganjam and Puri on May 10, then heavy rainfall warnings for five districts on May 11.
Mark
And the fishermen?
Mimi
They have staggered bans: the Andaman Sea on May 8, central Bay on May 9 and 10, northwest Bay from May 10 to 12.
Luke
Worth noting there are no damage or evacuation figures. The report doesn't say what the wind speeds are either, so how severe it gets is still open.
El Pulso
- A storm named Asani has formed far out over the Bay of Bengal, and forecasters expect it to strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm within a day.
- Fishing boats are being ordered off large stretches of sea on specific dates, leaving livelihoods suspended while the storm's path remains uncertain.
- Coastal districts in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh are bracing for heavy rain on May 10 and 11, with yellow and heavy-rainfall warnings already issued for specific districts.
- The pivotal moment arrives on the evening of May 10, when the storm is expected to recurve north-northeastward toward the Odisha coast, and everyone in its path is watching for that bend.
On a Sunday morning in early May, the India Meteorological Department recorded that a deep depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal had grown into a cyclonic storm, now called Asani, still far out over open water. Such storms are among the oldest recurring hazards of the coastline, and this one is being read less as a finished event than as a question still unfolding: how it will bend, and who will be in its path. For the fishing communities and coastal towns of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, the storm's slow turn toward land is a reminder that the sea keeps its own schedule, and that preparation is the only part of the story people can shape.
At 5:30 on Sunday morning, May 8, the India Meteorological Department placed a storm in the southeast Bay of Bengal, centred near 11.2 degrees north and 89.3 degrees east. The system had been a deep depression, moving west-northwest at 16 kmph, and had now strengthened into a cyclonic storm called Asani. It was still far from land: roughly 970 km from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and about 1,030 km from Puri in Odisha.
The agency expects Asani to keep growing, likely becoming a severe cyclonic storm within a day, and to continue northwestward until the evening of May 10. After that, the forecast calls for a turn north-northeastward toward the Odisha coast, and it is that bend coastal districts are watching most closely.
Rain is the first expected effect. Light to moderate showers are forecast at a few places on May 10, with heavy falls at isolated spots across coastal Odisha, north Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal on May 10 and 11. Senior scientist Umashankar said rain would begin on the evening of May 10, with yellow warnings for Gajapati, Ganjam and Puri, and heavy-rainfall warnings for Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Cuttack and Ganjam on May 11.
Fishermen have been told to stay out of large stretches of the Bay of Bengal and the adjoining Andaman Sea on specific dates, from May 8 through May 12. The storm also arrives alongside a heatwave warning for parts of central and western India. For the coast, the next signposts are the storm's strengthening, its position on the evening of May 10, and whether it turns toward Odisha as forecast.
At 5:30 on Sunday morning, May 8, the India Meteorological Department placed a storm in the Southeast Bay of Bengal at 11.2 degrees north, 89.3 degrees east. By then the system, which had been a deep depression, had been moving west-northwest at 16 kmph over the previous six hours and had strengthened into a cyclonic storm. It now has a name: Asani.
The IMD's statement gave its distances from land. Asani sat about 450 km west-northwest of Car Nicobar in the Nicobar Islands and 380 km west of Port Blair in the Andaman Islands. On the mainland side, it was 970 km southeast of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and 1,030 km south-southeast of Puri in Odisha.
The agency expects the storm to keep growing. It is very likely to move northwestwards and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the east central Bay of Bengal within the next 24 hours. The IMD expects that northwestward track to continue until the evening of May 10, taking the system into the west central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal, off the coasts of north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
After that, the forecast calls for a turn. The IMD says the storm is very likely to recurve north-northeastwards and move toward the northwest Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast. That bend is the part of the track the coastal districts will be watching.
Rain is the first expected effect. The IMD predicts light to moderate rainfall at a few places on May 10, with heavy rain at isolated spots over coastal Odisha and adjoining north coastal Andhra Pradesh, along with West Bengal, on May 10 and 11. The agency repeated the outlook for May 11 for the same stretch of coast: rain at a few places and heavy falls at isolated locations.
Senior scientist Umashankar, quoted by ANI, gave the Odisha detail. Rain will begin on the evening of May 10, and a yellow warning has been issued for three districts: Gajapati, Ganjam and Puri. On May 11, a heavy rainfall warning covers five districts: Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda, Cuttack and Ganjam.
Fishermen have been given dated restrictions. They are advised not to go into the east central and southeast Bay of Bengal and the adjoining Andaman Sea on May 8. The central Bay of Bengal is off limits on May 9 and 10, and the northwest Bay of Bengal from May 10 to 12.
The storm arrives as the IMD also warns that a heatwave across India will intensify over the next five days, with an orange alert for Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and parts of Maharashtra. For Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, the next signposts are the storm's strengthening over the next day, its position on the evening of May 10, and whether it recurves toward the Odisha coast as forecast.
Citas Notables
Rainfall will commence on the evening of May 10; a yellow warning is issued for Gajapati, Ganjam and Puri, and a heavy rainfall warning for five districts on May 11.— Senior scientist Umashankar, quoted by ANI
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en Oneindia ↗
Climate & Environment