Low-Pressure System Brings Heavy Rain Alert for Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday confirmed that a low-pressure area persists over Gangetic West Bengal and its neighbouring regions, leading to unsettled weather conditions across Odisha and adjoining states.

According to the IMD, the system is supported by an upper-air cyclonic circulation extending up to 7.6 km above mean sea level, tilting southwestwards with height and thereby intensifying its impact. The low-pressure is likely to move west-northwestwards towards Jharkhand within the next 24 hours and gradually weaken thereafter.

Meanwhile, the IMD has predicted the formation of another low-pressure system over the northwest Bay of Bengal, off the Odisha–West Bengal coasts, around August 25.

In view of the prevailing situation, the weather office has issued an ‘Orange’ warning for heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty surface winds (30–40 kmph) at one or two places in Sundargarh, Keonjhar, Jharsuguda, and Bargarh districts on August 24.

Additionally, a ‘Yellow’ warning has been issued for several districts, including Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Mayurbhanj, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Dhenkanal, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, and Gajapati.

For August 25, the ‘Yellow’ warning will remain in effect, covering multiple districts such as Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Angul, Dhenkanal, Puri, Khurda, Nayagarh, Ganjam, and Gajapati. The IMD has further extended the ‘Yellow’ warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms across Odisha until August 28.

The department has also advised fishermen not to venture into the sea along and off the Odisha coast, as well as over the North Bay of Bengal, on August 23 and 24 due to rough sea conditions.