BHUBANESWAR: The seething cauldron that Odisha has turned into under the prolonged spell of an intense heat wave may expect some respite with the weatherman predicting a fall in day temperature from Sunday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heat wave conditions had swept Odisha under the influence of dry and warm north-westerly and westerly winds blowing towards the State in the last few days.
“However, the daytime temperature is likely to reduce slightly from Sunday onwards as north-westerly and westerly winds have weakened and southerly and south-easterly winds have started penetrating into the State,” said Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Director, HR Biswas. This is likely to be followed by a low pressure, which is predicted to form over the Bay of Bengal in the first week of May. “A cyclonic circulation is likely to form over south Andaman Sea and neighbourhood around May 4, which will progress to a low pressure area. The system might become more marked in the subsequent 24 hours,” the IMD said on Friday.
According to the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre for Tropical Cyclones over North Indian Ocean, the sea surface temperature is around 29 to 30 degree Celsius over the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. “Considering the available guidance from various sources, there is moderate probability of formation of a depression over south Andaman Sea and adjoining south-east Bay of Bengal areas with gradual north-eastwards movement during second half of next week,” the centre stated.‘The exact path of the system can be determined after the low pressure area forms over south Andaman Sea by May 5,’ said Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre scientist Umasankar Das.
Climatologically, there have been 69 cyclonic disturbances over the north Indian Ocean including 48 over the Bay of Bengal and 21 over the Arabian Sea between 1961 and 2020. Of these, 50 intensified into cyclonic storms with 35 over the Bay of Bengal and 15 over the Arabian Sea. Meanwhile, Odisha continued to experience severe heat conditions with 25 places recording 40 degree Celsius and above on Friday. Boudh was the hottest at 45 degrees while Bhubaneswar and Cuttack recorded 40.2 and 40.1 degree C respectively.