Cyclone Arnab Approaches; Alerts Issued Across Multiple States

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued orange alerts across six states as Cyclone Arnab approaches the Indian coast, with a predicted landfall before midnight on September 23. Fishermen in West Bengal, Odisha, and Bangladesh have been advised to remain ashore until Friday. Schools in several districts of Odisha have also been closed in anticipation of severe weather conditions.

According to Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg, the IMD's statement indicated that the weather system could intensify into a deep depression but has not yet reached cyclone status. The deep depression, currently situated near latitude 17.9°N and longitude 85.8°E, is approximately 180 kilometres south-southeast of Gopalpur, 180 kilometres east-southeast of Kalingapatnam, and 210 kilometres south of Puri.

The weather system has slowed to a speed of 8 kilometres per hour, having previously moved at 18 kilometres per hour. The IMD expects the system to continue moving west-northwest and intensify over the next 12 hours before making landfall between Visakhapatnam and Gopalpur.

In a district-wise IMD nowcast issued late at night, an orange alert has been extended to eleven districts in coastal and northern Andhra Pradesh, including Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, Kakinada, and East and West Godavari. Eleven districts in Odisha, comprising Ganjam, Gajapati, Koraput, Kalahandi, and Balangir, have also received similar warnings.

Beyond Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, the nowcast's impact stretches to districts in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Maharashtra, with areas such as Pune, Raigad, and Thane also under alert, demonstrating the extensive influence of this weather system.

Currently, no districts are under a red alert, although earlier red alerts for Srikakulam and Vizianagaram are still active. The IMD has advised the public to remain vigilant and avoid taking shelter under trees or unstable structures, as well as staying away from flood-prone or landslide-prone areas.

While the system has not yet been classified as a cyclone—this classification requires sustained winds of at least 63 kilometres per hour—if it does reach that threshold, it will be named Arnab. This will mark the first cyclone in the North Indian Ocean since Cyclone Ditwah, which resulted in over 600 fatalities across Sri Lanka and India in November 2025. Emergency personnel remain on standby as the situation develops.