Red alert as Cyclone Ditwah nears TN, Puducherry, AP; NW India likely sees 2–4°C drop

Cyclone Ditwah likely to reach over the southwest Bay of Bengal near North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts by early Sunday morning: IMD

New Delhi: Cyclone Ditwah, which has already killed around 120 people in Sri Lanka, is very likely to continue moving north-northwestwards and reach over the southwest Bay of Bengal near North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts by early Sunday morning, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

Cyclone Ditwah, which has already killed around 120 people in Sri Lanka, is very likely to continue moving north-northwestwards, IMD says.

“It is a cyclone with maximum wind speed presently 70 to 80 kmph. We are expecting same wind speed to prevail until Sunday morning. The cyclone will have impact on coastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts. These wind speeds are not that high but they can have large-scale impact on standing crops. There can be inundation of low lying areas. Storm surge of half to 1m is likely tonight. There can be widespread impact on traffic. Fishermen should not venture out because sea condition is high. Ditwah generated over Sri Lanka and emerged in Bay of Bengal today. Ditwah will not cross the Indian coast. But it will over the sea but 50 to 60 km of coastline so widespread impacts are expected,” said M Mohapatra, director general, IMD.

The cyclone was located about 80 km east of Jaffna (Sri Lanka), 140 km southeast of Vedaranniyam (India), 170 km south-southeast of Karaikal (India), 280 km south-southeast of Puducherry (India), and 380 km south of Chennai (India) on Saturday afternoon.

Cyclone Ditwah has already killed around 120 people in Sri Lanka. (REUTERS)

While moving north-northwestwards, Ditwah will be centered over the southwest Bay of Bengal within a minimum distance of 60 km, 50 km, and 25 km from the Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coastline by Saturday midnight and early Sunday morning, the IMD said, issuing a red-category warning for north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts.

According to the IMD, rainfall is expected over Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, with “light to moderate rainfall at most places, heavy to very heavy at many places, and extremely heavy rainfall (more than 20 cm) at isolated places” over coastal Tamil Nadu and north coastal Puducherry on Sunday.

Thereafter, rainfall would gradually decrease, with light to moderate rainfall at many places and heavy rainfall at isolated places on December 1, the IMD added.

The coastal area of Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry’s Yanam will also receive “light to moderate rainfall at most places, heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places” on Sunday. It would then gradually decrease, becoming “light to moderate rainfall at many places with heavy rainfall at isolated places” on Monday.

Follow latest and LIVE updates on Cyclone Ditwah here

Kerala and Mahe in Puducherry, the IMD said, will see “light to moderate rainfall at many places with heavy rainfall at isolated places” on Saturday, while Telangana is “very likely to get light to moderate rainfall at a few places with heavy rainfall at isolated places” on Sunday.

Meanwhile, over northwest India, a western disturbance in the form of an upper-air cyclonic circulation over north Pakistan and its neighbourhood is now lying over north Punjab and the surrounding region in the lower tropospheric levels.

A cyclonic circulation is also lying over East Assam and its neighbourhood in the lower tropospheric levels.

There is likely to be a fall in minimum temperatures by 2 to 4°C over northwest India during the next three days, after which no significant change is expected.

Minimum temperatures are below 6°C at many places over Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, Muzaffarabad, and Himachal Pradesh; at a few places in Uttarakhand and Punjab; in the range of 6–10°C at many places over Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, and western Uttar Pradesh; and at isolated places over north Rajasthan, eastern Uttar Pradesh, and eastern Madhya Pradesh.

The lowest minimum temperature of 6.4°C was reported at Amritsar (Punjab) over the plains of India.