A depression over the southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm and move towards the Andhra Pradesh coast over the next two days, according to an India Meteorological Department bulletin reported by Deccan Chronicle. The system may be named Akvan after strengthening over the central parts of the south and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal on November 16.
The depression was moving nearly northwards at a speed of 10 kmph during the three hours covered by the IMD update. It was centred over the southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal when the bulletin was issued, with the system positioned about 1,010 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and 840 km east-southeast of Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
The bulletin placed the depression about 630 km east of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka and 690 km west-southwest of Sri Vijaya Puram in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It was also located about 1,130 km south-southeast of Gopalpur in Odisha, indicating that the system remained well offshore while continuing its northward movement.
The IMD forecast that the depression was very likely to move north-northwestwards and intensify into a cyclonic storm over the central parts of the south and adjoining west-central Bay of Bengal on Monday, November 16. The system was further expected to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal on November 17.
After that, the system was likely to intensify further and move northwestwards towards the Andhra Pradesh coast over the subsequent two days. The bulletin, as reported, did not establish a landfall location, landfall time or the extent of possible rainfall and wind impacts along the coast.
The system’s projected movement places Andhra Pradesh, particularly its coastal districts and coastal urban centres, within the area requiring close monitoring as the storm develops. The distances cited by the IMD show that the depression was still far from the state at the time of the update, while the forecast path could bring it closer to the coast after further strengthening.
The storm’s development also makes the timing of subsequent IMD updates important for coastal administration, transport operators and residents. Those updates are expected to clarify the system’s intensity, track and proximity to the Andhra Pradesh coast. For now, the official forecast remains focused on intensification through November 17 and further northwestward movement during the following two days.
