Bhubaneswar: The well-marked low-pressure system over Southeast Gangetic West Bengal and adjoining Bangladesh has intensified into a depression, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a red alert for several districts in northern Odisha. As per the bulletin issued at 3:30 PM today, the system lay centered at 11:30 AM near latitude 23.0°N and longitude 88.8°E — approximately 70 km northeast of Kolkata and 100 km east-southeast of Burdwan — and is expected to move west-northwestwards over the next 24 hours.
The IMD has forecast light to moderate rainfall or thundershowers across most districts of Odisha for the next five days, with particularly intense activity expected during the next 48 hours.
Day 1 (until 8:30 AM on July 15): Red Alert for Northern Odisha
A Red Warning — indicating extremely heavy rainfall (more than 204.5 mm) — has been issued for Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, and Sundargarh, with the likelihood of thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds reaching 50–60 kmph.
An Orange Warning is in place for Angul, Dhenkanal, and Deogarh and coastal districts including Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur, and Kendrapara, where heavy to very heavy rainfall accompanied by wind speeds of up to 60 kmph is likely.
Several other districts, including Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Khurda, Cuttack, Puri, Koraput, and Kalahandi, are under Yellow Warning for isolated heavy rain and thunderstorm activity.
Day 2 (July 15–16): Orange Alert Extended
The heavy rainfall threat continues on Tuesday, with Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, and Jharsuguda under Orange Warning for very heavy rain and gusty winds. A broad Yellow Warning zone covers districts from Balasore to Nuapada, with a possibility of scattered thunderstorms.
Day 3 to 5: Gradual Weakening But Continued Warnings
From July 16 to 19, the system is expected to weaken gradually, but multiple districts — especially in north and interior Odisha — will continue to experience rain and thunderstorms under Yellow Warnings.
Marine & Wind Warnings:
The IMD has warned of squally winds up to 60 kmph over the North Bay of Bengal and the coasts of Odisha, West Bengal, and Bangladesh. Wind speeds over North Odisha may reach up to 50 kmph within the next 24 hours. The sea condition is very likely to be rough to very rough, and Local Cautionary Signal No-III (LC-3) has been hoisted at Paradip and Dhamra ports.
Fishermen Warning:
Fisherfolk have been strongly advised not to venture into the sea along and off the North Odisha coast for the next 24 hours due to hazardous marine conditions.
The Odisha government has been alerted and district administrations, particularly in the north and coastal belts, have been urged to stay on high alert. Disaster response teams have been placed on standby in vulnerable areas.
