What Cyclone Montha landfall in Andhra means for Bengaluru's weather?

Namma Karnataka Weather@namma_vjy/X

A deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a cyclonic storm early on Monday, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue severe weather warnings for the eastern coastline and forecast widespread rainfall across several southern states.

The cyclonic system is expected to bring significant rainfall to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and parts of South Karnataka over the coming days. The IMD has pinpointed its trajectory, forecasting that it will cross the Andhra Pradesh coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Kakinada, during the evening or night of October 28, HT reported.

At the time of landfall, the storm is projected to be a severe cyclonic storm, packing sustained wind speeds of 90–100 kmph, which could gust up to 110 kmph. The IMD also warns of a storm surge of up to 1 metre above the astronomical tide, posing a significant threat to coastal communities.

In response to the impending severe weather, authorities have issued a red alert for several coastal districts. As reported by HT, these include Kakinada, Konaseema, West Godavari, Krishna, Bapatla, Prakasam and Nellore. IMD scientist S Jagannath Kumar, in an update carried by ANI, detailed the expected impact, stating the storm is “likely to bring heavy to very heavy rainfall, with extremely heavy rainfall in isolated areas and strong winds.”

While the brunt of the cyclone’s fury will be felt on the Andhra coast, its influence will extend inland. Bengaluru is among the urban centres expected to see a change in weather patterns due to the distant system. The IMD has forecast light to moderate rainfall for the city within the next 12 hours, accompanied by cloudy skies.

The maximum temperature in Bengaluru is expected to settle around 29 degrees Celsius, with a minimum of 21 degrees Celsius. This pattern of light to moderate rainfall is likely to persist throughout the week across the city and broader region, leading the weather department to issue a yellow alert for several areas of Karnataka for October 28.