Cyclone Bulbul is steadily gathering intensity over the Bay of Bengal and is expected to turn into a very severe cyclonic storm by Friday night, according to fresh predictions released by the India Meteorological Department. The weather office hasn't yet said whether Cyclone Bulbul will make landfall in India but its predictions suggest that Bulbul will skirt Odisha and head towards West Bengal and Bangladesh in the upcoming days.

Cyclone Bulbul is expected to bring rainfall over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, north coastal Odish and coastal West Bengal. Bulbul may also cause damage to thatched houses, partial damage to communication and power lines, major damage to coastal crops and uprooting of trees, according to the IMD. The IMD has also advised a complete suspension of fishing activity from Friday onwards.

The effects of Cyclone Bulbul will result in light to moderate rainfall over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the next 24 hours, the IMD has predicted. Light to moderate rainfall will also take place over north coastal Odisha, including the districts of Puri, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Mayurbhanj, Cuttack and Jajpur on Friday and Saturday.

Satellite image showing Cyclone Bulbul at 4:30 pm on Thursday (Photo courtesy: Skymetweather.com/INSAT)

Coastal districts of West Bengal such as North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Medinipur, Howrah, Hooghly and Nadiya can expect heavy rainfall on Saturday and Sunday due to Cyclone Bulbul, the IMD has predicted.

More information about Cyclone Bulbul, its intensity and whether it will make landfall in India are expected over the next couple of days as the IMD releases more-detailed cyclone bulletins.

7TH NAMED STORM

Cyclone Bulbul is the seventh named storm of the unusually active 2019 North Indian Ocean cyclone season. The season has seen Cyclone Pabuk (South China Sea-Andaman Sea), Cyclone Fani (Bay of Bengal), Cyclone Vayu (Arabian Sea), Cyclone Hikka (Arabian Sea), Cyclone Kyarr (Arabian Sea) and Cyclone Maha (Arabian Sea).

Bulbul, whose name was contributed by Pakistan, is the seventh the series of named cyclones of this season. If IMD's predictions hold true, Bulbul will also be the sixth storm to reach an intensity of very severe cyclonic storm.

Cyclone Bulbul comes around seven months after Cyclone Fani struck Odisha. Cyclone Fani was the strongest storm to hit the state since the devastating 1999 Super Cyclone that killed thousands of people.