Depression over Bay of Bengal: IMD predicts system's next course, rainfall in Odisha

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday afternoon predicted that the current depression over the Bay of Bengal is likely to weaken gradually in the next 12 hours and move slowly east-northeastwards maintaining its intensity as a depression.

A well-marked low pressure over the Bay of Bengal had intensified into a depression by this morning and under its influence light to moderate rainfall is continuing since early Friday across several places of Odisha.

The IMD on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle also shared that in the past 24 hours, Ranipur in Nayagarh district received the highest amount of rainfall in the state at 108.4 mm while places like Jatni, Begunia, and Banpur of Khordha districts received over 70mm of rainfall.

Meanwhile, the depression moved east-northeastwards with a speed of 12 kmph during the past 6 hours and lay centred about 430 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam and 590 km south of Gopalpur.

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It will lose its intensity over the sea in the next 12 hours and following it, rainfall is expected to subside.

The Regional Meteorological Department in Bhubaneswar issued a heavy rainfall alert this morning for Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Ganjam, and Gajapati districts and for light to moderate rainfall in several locations across Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Jajpur, and Dhenkanal districts.

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“In interior Odisha, light to medium rainfall is expected while heavy rainfall may also be witnessed in coastal areas,” stated IMD Bhubaneswar Director Manorama Mohanty. However, she also added that after rainfall activities will reduce in the coming hours, but cloudy skies may prevail.