Cyclone Shakti emerges in Bay of Bengal

Cyclone Shakti has developed in the Bay of Bengal, according to the US Navy-run Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). 

On Thursday morning, the JTWC reported that the cyclone is positioned in the southwest Bay of Bengal, east of Andhra Pradesh’s coast and approximately 700 kilometers southwest of Kolkata. 

The cyclone’s maximum sustained wind speed is around 65 km/h, with gusts reaching up to 83 km/h.

The JTWC has officially named the cyclone 'Shakti,' and it is expected to make landfall between the coasts of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha in India by Thursday night. 

However, the meteorological departments of Bangladesh and India currently classify it as a 'deep depression.'

While Cyclone Shakti is not expected to directly impact Bangladesh, its influence may bring moderate to heavy rainfall to West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya, and parts of Bangladesh until October 5. 

Mustafa Kamal Palash, a meteorology and climate researcher at the University of Saskatchewan, noted that the ongoing monsoon season in India and Bangladesh typically hinders the formation of full-fledged cyclones in the Bay of Bengal. 

The emergence of a cyclone during this period is highly unusual. This year has been exceptional, with a record number of monsoon-related low-pressure systems, depressions, and deep depressions forming consecutively in the Bay of Bengal.