Cyclone Arnab intensifies in Bay of Bengal
Representational image: Collected
The deep depression stationed over the east-central Bay of Bengal and adjoining southeast Bay of Bengal has intensified into cyclone “Arnab,” which could transform into a very severe cyclonic storm and hit Andhra Pradesh, India, on Wednesday.
Due to the cyclone’s impact, authorities advised the country’s four maritime ports to hoist distant warning signal number 2 on Monday. Meteorologist Md Abdul Hamid Mia confirmed the weather forecast on Monday.
The forecast placed cyclone Arnab over the east-central Bay of Bengal and the adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal area. Moving in west-northwestern direction, the system may strengthen into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal by midnight.
Then tracking north-westward, Arnab may escalate into a very severe cyclonic storm before crossing the coast of Andhra Pradesh, India, on Wednesday.
The weather bulletin noted that within 54 kilometers of the cyclone’s center, continuous maximum sustained wind speeds reach 62 kilometers per hour, with gusts and squalls increasing up to 88 kilometers per hour.
Seas remain very rough near the storm center. Following Arnab’s formation, authorities instructed the maritime ports of Chattogram, Cox’s Bazar, Mongla, and Payra to lower distant cautionary signal number 1 and display distant warning signal number 2.
Moreover, authorities advised fishing boats and trawlers operating in the North Bay to remain near the coast and navigate cautiously until further notice.
Bangladesh originally proposed the name “Arnab,” which derives from the Bengali word for “sea” or “ocean.” In April 2020, the Panel on Tropical Cyclones of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) officially incorporated the name into the tropical cyclone naming list.
The official list features names submitted by 13 member countries, comprising Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Each country contributed 13 names, establishing a total registry of 169 names.
Authorities sequentially assign these names whenever a tropical cyclone forms across the North Indian Ocean region, which includes the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
