Cyclone Mocha likely to hit India’s eastern coast next week: All you need to know

The first cyclone of the year, Cyclone Mocha, is likely to form over the southeast Bay of Bengal this week, as a low-pressure area is developing in the region. As per the IMD, a cyclonic circulation is likely to form around May 6. However, the formation of the cyclone has not been confirmed yet.

“A cyclonic circulation is likely to develop over the southeast Bay of Bengal around May 6, 2023. Under its influence, a low-pressure area is likely to form over the same region during subsequent 48 hours (May 7 and 8),” IMD said on Tuesday.

The IMD's statement was released after the Global Forecast System, the US weather forecast model and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts had predicted the formation of a cyclonic storm over the Bay of Bengal.

As per the nomenclature system followed by the WMO/ESCAP member countries, the cyclonic storm, if formed, will be named ‘Cyclone Mocha’. The name was suggested by the country of Yemen, after the Red Sea port city.

“Some models are suggesting that it would be a cyclone. We are keeping a watch. Updates will be provided regularly," said IMD's Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told Livemint.

In recent years most cyclones that developed in the region, including Amphan in 2020, Asani in 2021 and Yaas in 2022, made landfall in the month of May.

Though there is no prediction about the movement of Cyclone Mocha by IMD, its impact on the coasts of West Bengal and Odisha may not be ruled out. The government of Odisha has already started preparations to prevent any damage caused by the cyclone.

As per predictions shared by Windy.com, the cyclonic storm is likely to over the Bay of Bengal next week on Tuesday. It is then expected to gradually move northward, closer to the Indian coastline.

As per the IMD-Global Forecast System (GFS), a low-pressure area which is forming over the southeast region of the Bay of Bengal will intensify into a cyclonic storm on May 9 near the Andaman Islands.

IMD’s system predicts that the storm is likely to move north-northeastward towards the east-central Bay of Bengal till May 11.

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) has predicted that the low-pressure area is likely to develop in the south Andaman Sea and the southeast Bay of Bengal followed by a cyclonic storm on May 11.

In view of the possible cyclone ‘Mocha’, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness on Tuesday as per an India Today report.

The Chief Minister asked the administration to be prepared to deal with any situation, as it is difficult to accurately determine the path of cyclones formed during summer.

He directed the officials and departments to remain in a state of readiness and said the NDRF, ODRAF and Fire Services personnel should also be prepared.