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Cyclone Mocha to intensify into severe cyclonic storm; IMD issues warning
The cyclonic storm ‘Mocha’ is Bay of Bengal’s first cyclone of the year and is expected to make landfall Sunday along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Thursday issued a bulletin forecasting that cyclone Mocha is expected to intensify into a severe storm by midnight over the central Bay of Bengal. "Cyclonic storm Mocha over the southeast Bay of Bengal about 510 km west-southwest of Port Blair, 1190 km south-southwest of Coxs Bazar (Bangladesh). To intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by midnight of today," the weather forecasting agency tweeted. (Track LIVE updates of cyclone Mocha here)
The cyclonic storm ‘Mocha’, pronounced as ‘Mokha’, is the Bay of Bengal’s first cyclone of the year and is expected to make landfall Sunday along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. In the wake of the warning by IMD, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has said its units are on high alert. Meanwhile, the National Disaster Response Force teams arrived in West Bengal’s Digha in the evening to ensure preparedness to minimise the impact of cyclone.
Also Read| Cyclone Mocha: Here's how you can track updates on storm
IMD's weather forecast for the next five days for India:
IMD said most parts of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next three days in isolated places. It added that the state of Tripura and Mizoram are expected to witness heavy rain showers at isolated places on Saturday and Sunday, while Nagaland, Manipur and south Assam will face intense rainfall in isolated pockets on Sunday.
Also Read| After pleasant days, intense heat in store for Delhi: IMD
For Kerala and Mahe, the IMD said fairly widespread rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, and gusty winds could be expected over the next five days. It also predicted similar weather conditions for coastal Andhra Pradesh, south interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal for tomorrow.
The IMD noted that maximum temperatures were recorded 4-5 degree Celsius above normal over parts of Gujarat, east Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim and northeast India today. In addition, it said the maximum temperatures were very likely to rise by 3-5 degree Celsius over most parts of the country in the next three days except over east India.
Humid air and high temperature are set to add to the woos of the people in Konkan and Odisha over the next five days. IMD noted that heatwave conditions are likely to prevail in isolated areas over Rajasthan on the weekend and over coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam from May 13-15.
