On 13 May 2023, Cyclone Mocha was rated as the third-most intense cyclone to hit the Bay of Bengal in the month of May since 1982, as per a report published in Down to Earth website.
Mocha was tied with an unnamed cyclone that hit the Bay of Bengal near Bangladesh in May 1997 at a windspeed of 212 kph. On top of the list in Cyclone Amphan which hit the Bay of Bengal in May 2020 at a windspeed of 265 kph. In second position was a cyclone that hit the coast at a windspeed of 231 kph near Andhra Pradesh in May 1990.
The cyclone intensified into an "Extreme Severe Cyclonic Storm" category on May 13 and before landfall, could move into the category of "super cyclone".
At present, Mocha's windspeed is 250 kph as per the United States Department of Defense agency Joint Typhoon Warning Center.
"It was not expected that the cyclone would reach the Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm category. But now it may just reach the super cyclone category if the intensification occurs," Anupam Kashyapi, head of India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s weather forecasting department, Pune, told Down to Earth.
As per Skymet weather, Cyclone Mocha could weaken slightly before reaching the land due to "intrusion of dry air, increased wind shear and rugged terrain,".
As per Bloomberg, Bangladesh and Myanmar had stared to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people as Cyclone Mocha is set to make landfall Sunday.
Also read: Storm Mocha heads for world’s biggest refugee camp in Bangladesh
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