India has still not recovered from the trap of Coronavirus and now a cyclone is destroying the lives of locals in the coastal region of Andhra Pradesh. The cyclone has been named Gulab and developed in September when Andhra Pradesh already was experiencing the monsoon showers.
The cyclone Gulab has had some impact on other states, including Gujrat, Maharashtra, and Telangana. As of today, certain effects have been observed in Andhra Pradesh, but all of those will be felt until 30th September.
Even though cyclones aren’t so common between June and September, the formation of the cyclone Gulab is likely to have been caused by several other factors. As India experiences bi-annual cyclone season and that too in the months from March till May and the other one is from October to December, due to various other conditions, India can experience cyclones in between June to September. These two months have fewer chances of cyclones as the conditions for the process of cyclogenesis are limited due to the strong monsoon currents.
The cyclone Gulab began in the Bay of Bengal and later made its way to Kalingapatanam in Andhra Pradesh. The last cyclone that developed in the Bay of Bengal was in September 2018.
The Indian Meteorological Department says that the causes of the cyclone were the in-sync phase of MJO (Madden Julian Oscillation) along with the warm sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Bengal and the formation of low pressure along the lower latitudes.
Usually, on reaching the land most of the cyclones weaken and comes to an end. The senior meteorologist at National Weather Forecasting Centre states that being in September is critical, especially when the monsoon in the southwest continues to be active and experiences moisture with weak wind shear and no available obstructions on the land to dampen the force of a cyclone.Â
The force of cyclone weakened by the Monday morning into the deep depression and the depression was located in south Chhattisgarh, north Telangana, and Vidarbha according to the reports and also has the forecast to move towards the northern region of Maharashtra, the coasts of Gujrat, and will weaken the cyclone some time.Â
The major concern now is the re-emergence of the cyclone, as earlier in November 2018, the cyclone Gaja had formed in the Bay of Bengal and went to the coast of Tamil Nadu and after that, the cyclone created its way in the west direction and re-emerged in the Central Kerala coast over the Arabian Sea. Looking into the present conditions experienced in the North Arabian Sea, the chances of the re-emergences of the cyclone Gulab are very high and can intensify in the coming days. If the wind speed attains the speed of 68 km/hr to 87 km/hr it will be given a new name by the IMD as it will fall under the category of cyclones.Â
Even though the re-emerging cyclone may not directly affect India, the Indian Meteorological Department has already issued warnings to the Indian Ocean and fishermen.
According to the conditions it has 51% to 75% chances of developing another cyclone but it will be moderate and can re-emerge in the northern region of the Arabian Sea somewhere close to the coast of Gujrat.
Till now, the cyclone has resulted in the death of two that includes a woman and a fisherman and one injured. According to the government of Odisha, the cyclone Gulab does not affect Odisha in large amounts, and transportation was partially affected in areas of Koraput, Malkangiri, and Gajapati in Andhra Pradesh due to the landslides.
The cyclone Gulab has devastated the coast of Andhra Pradesh and damaged around 13,413 hectares of crops in Vizianagaram and recorded rainfall of more than 10 cm and some areas of Vishakapatnam even experienced more than 25 cm of rainfall and the wind speed experienced by Odisha was not so destructive as per the reports.
