The southern part of the country is likely to receive rainfall during the weekends due to a cyclone over the Andaman sea. The Andaman sea is near the Gulf of Thailand and the Myanmar region. The National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM) said that although the cyclone is expected to result in light to moderate rainfall, the impact could either be lighter than predicted or much worse.
There is a formation of low pressure over the central part of the Andaman sea. Later it is likely to further intensify into a cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal. After moving over north Andhra Pradesh – Odisha coasts, Bhutan is also likely to receive moderate rain in the south and light rain for the rest of the country from 5th to 7th December.
According to the Chief of the NCHM, Singay Dorji, the cyclone is not yet fully developed into a full-blown cyclone. But he said there still is a risk, “we want to give out public information on the possibility of rain around this weekend especially in the context of some farmers who are planning to harvest. Since the transportation in Bhutan is mostly road-based, it could be disrupted if there is snowfall on high passes,” he added.
In India, this cyclone is expected to bring heavy storms in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. The Bay of Bengal saw no cyclonic storms this year in October and November, which are generally the peak months for cyclones in the region.
Unseasonal rains have a history of wreaking havoc in the country. The last post-monsoon rain caught many farmers in the country off guard. Farmers in Paro alone lost more than 200 truckloads of paddy to the rain.
Samten Dolkar
Edited by Sonam
