Bhubaneswar: A low-pressure area has been formed in the Bay of Bengal close to the West Bengal-Odisha coast, and it is likely to bring heavy rain till Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The weather office, while noting that the low pressure is likely to become more marked over the next two days, asked fishermen not to venture into the sea from July 25 to 27.
The condition of the sea is likely to be very rough along and off the Odisha coast from July 25 to 27. Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea during this period, the IMD said in a bulletin Saturday.
It urged fishermen already at sea to return to the coast.
The IMD said that under the influence of the system, squally weather conditions, with wind speeds reaching 40-50 kmph, are likely to prevail along and off the Odisha Coast from July 25 to 27.
The low-pressure system is expected to bring heavy rainfall to Odisha during the Suna Besha ritual Saturday and the Adhara Panaa ritual Monday, raising concerns over weather conditions during the key Rath Yatra events.
Under the influence of cyclonic circulation over southwest Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh, a low pressure area has been formed over northwest Bay of Bengal and adjoining Gangetic West Bengal-north Odisha coasts. It is likely to become more marked during the next 2 days, the IMD bulletin said.
The Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar forecast widespread rain across Odisha, with coastal districts expected to receive heavy downpour.
An ‘orange’ alert (be updated) of heavy to very heavy rainfall has been issued for Cuttack, Keonjhar, Dhenkanal and Angul districts, while a ‘yellow’ warning (be aware) has been issued for 16 other districts, including Puri, warning of heavy rainfall from Saturday to Sunday morning.
The office of the special relief commissioner (SRC) here asked all the collectors of districts categorised under colour-coded warnings to remain prepared to deal with possible situations of water-logging, landslide, mudslide, lightning and strong winds.
