Mumbai on Cyclone Tej alert! IMD warns of cyclonic storm in Arabian Sea. When is it expected to hit?

Mumbai is on cyclone alert! The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning about weather changes in Maharashtra city due to a possible cyclonic storm that is expected to develop in the Arabian Sea. 

The IMD’s weather update on Monday outlined that a low-pressure area is likely to develop over the southeast and adjoining east-central Arabian Sea in the next 48 hours.

October to December is among the favorable periods for the development of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea due to warmer ocean temperatures.

If a tropical storm is formed in the Indian seas, it will be called “Tej", according to a formula followed for naming cyclones in the Indian Ocean region.

"A low-pressure area has formed over Southeast and adjoining East central Arabian Sea in the morning of 18th October. To move West-Northwestwards and intensify into a Depression around 21st October," the weather office wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

At present, the probability of the system intensifying into a cyclonic storm is not notably high.

In 2022, no tropical storm was formed over the Arabian Sea during the post-monsoon season, while the Bay of Bengal witnessed two tropical storms -- Sitrang and Mandous.

Cyclones in the Arabian Sea have a history of uncertain tracks and timelines, according to Skymet Weather.

Once the cyclones are over the central parts of the Arabian Sea, their preferred track is towards Somalia, the Gulf of Aden, Yemen, and Oman. However, on a few occasions, these cyclones take a detour and head towards the Gujarat and Pakistan coastline, Skymet said.

Meanwhile, Mumbai on Wednesday recorded a maximum temperature of 36.4 degrees Celsius, the highest mercury level in the month of October so far this year. 

The Santacruz observatory of the IMD, which tracks temperature and other weather parameters for Mumbai's suburbs, recorded 36.4 degrees Celsius temperature, the weather forecasting agency had said. 

On the other hand, the Colaba observatory, which tracks temperature and other meteorological parameters for the island city, registered a maximum temperature of 33.2 degrees Celsius, the IMD added. 

(With PTI inputs)