A weather system in Bay of Bengal is advancing, intensifying and likely to cross Andhra Pradesh-Odisha coast soon, the India Meteorological Department said on Tuesday.
The IMD said in a post on X at around 11:45 am on Monday that a depression over west central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a deep depression soon.
“The Depression over Westcentral & adjoining Northwest Bay of Bengal, moved westwards with speed 18 kmph during past 06 hours and lay centred at 0830 hrs IST of today, the 22nd September, 2026, over the same region near latitude 17.9°N and longitude 86.0°E, about 200 km southeast of Gopalpur (Odisha), 200 km east-southeast of Kalingapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), 210 km south of Puri (Odisha), and 290 km east of Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh),” the IMD said on X.
IMD scientists warned that the heavy rainfall could lead to rising water levels in rivers and cause flooding in low-lying areas, particularly in places that have already received sustained rain. In Khurda district, all schools were asked to remain shut from Tuesday to Thursday as a precautionary measure while in Ganjam district, the district administration has ordered the closure of all government, government-aided and private schools for the same period. In Gajapati, schools and Anganwadi centres will remain shut from Tuesday to Thursday. The order covers both government and private institutions.
Some places could receive up to 20cm of rain, while winds of 55-65 kmph are expected from Tuesday evening, according to estimates mentioned in an earlier HT report.
The next cyclone that forms in the North Indian Ocean will be named Arnab, according to the roster that lists names of cyclonic storms. Jagatsinghpur district administration has announced the closure of all schools and Anganwadi centres on Tuesday.
Schools and anganwadi centres in four districts of Odisha were declared shut amid IMD prediction of a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal that is likely to bring heavy rainfall to the state over the next two days.
The name Arnab (which means “ocean” in Bengali) was contributed by Bangladesh to the regional tropical cyclone naming list maintained by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
The IMD said it is very likely to cross north Andhra Pradesh -South Odisha coasts between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur as a deep depression during night of September 23 to early hours of September 24 – i.e. Wednesday and Thursday.
“It is very likely to move west-northwestwards & intensify into a deep depression over Westcentral & adjoining Northwest Bay of Bengal during next 12 hours,” IMD said, adding that the system is forecast to continuing to move west-northwestwards.
