1. Environment

Cyclone Shakti forms in Bay of Bengal, heavy rain forecast for region

While India’s Meteorological Department and Bangladesh’s Meteorological Department are still classifying it as a “deep depression,” JTWC said the system has already intensified into a cyclone

A tropical cyclone named “Shakti” has formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal, according to the U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC).

In a bulletin issued at 9 am Thursday (October 2), the agency said the storm was centered east of India’s Andhra Pradesh coast, about 700 kilometers southwest of Kolkata.

The cyclone is packing maximum sustained winds of around 65 kilometers per hour, with gusts reaching up to 83 kilometers per hour. JTWC warned that it is likely to make landfall along India’s coast between Andhra Pradesh and Odisha by Thursday night.

While India’s Meteorological Department and Bangladesh’s Meteorological Department are still classifying it as a “deep depression,” JTWC said the system has already intensified into a cyclone.

The storm is not expected to cross directly over Bangladesh. However, its influence is likely to bring moderate to heavy rainfall to parts of Bangladesh, as well as India’s West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, and Meghalaya states, through October 5.

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