Cyclone Remal likely to make landfall in Bengal tonight, flight ops suspended

This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this pre-monsoon season.

Remal was centered about 240 km south-southeast of Sagar Island and 300 km south-southwest of Khepupara, the IMD said in its latest update on Sunday.

It will intensify into a "severe cyclonic storm" in the next six hours and cross between Bangladesh and adjoining Bengal coasts around midnight, the Met office said.

As a precautionary measure ahead of the cyclone, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata announced the suspension of flight operations for 21 hours starting Sunday noon.

“In view of cyclone Remal's impact on the coastal region of West Bengal, including Kolkata, a meeting was held with the stakeholders and it has been decided to suspend flight operations from 1200 IST on May 26 to 0900 IST on May 27 due to predicted heavy winds and heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kolkata,” NSCBI airport director C Pattabhi said in a statement.

Kolkata Port has announced the suspension of all cargo and container handling operations for 12 hours starting Sunday evening.

The city received moderate rainfall early in the morning accompanied by strong winds, as per local media reports.

The low-pressure area first observed on May 22 in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a stronger system, now situated in the central Bay of Bengal.

The regions expected to be affected include West Bengal, Coastal Bangladesh, Tripura, and other parts of the northeastern states.

An orange alert is also in place for Kolkata, Howrah, Nadia, and Purba Medinipur districts.

The weather office has advised fishermen not to venture into the sea in the north Bay of Bengal until Monday morning.

The Met Office has also warned of extremely heavy rainfall in north Odisha on Sunday and Monday. Parts of northeast India may also experience extremely heavy precipitation on Monday and Tuesday.