According to the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) latest update, the system intensified into a Deep Depression over southeast Bay of Bengal during the early hours of Wednesday morning. As of 5:30 am today, it lay centred about 540 km west-southwest of Port Blair (capital city of Andaman-Nicobar Islands) and 1350 km south-southwest of Sittwe (Myanmar).

In this very part of BoB, the Deep Depression is expected to intensify into a Cyclonic Storm by today evening. For context, a system is categorised as a Cyclonic Storm when its 3-minute average maximum sustained wind speeds fall between 63-88 kmph.

Cyclone Mocha will then move north-northwestwards over southeast and adjoining central BoB, and gradually strengthen into a Severe Cyclonic Storm (wind speed 89-117 kmph) by Thursday morning and a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (118-165 kmph) by Friday morning.

Thereafter, it will gradually recurve, move north-northeastwards and start weakening by Saturday (May 13). Come Sunday (May 14) afternoon, it will make landfall over southeast Bangladesh and north Myanmar coasts — between Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh) and Kyaukpyu (Myanmar) — as a Severe Cyclonic Storm, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 kmph, gusting to 130 kmph.

And as it edges closer to India’s northeastern coast, Cyclone Mocha will also trigger heavy to very heavy rains over Northeast India on Sunday and next Monday (May 13-14).

In the meantime, the sea conditions all over BoB will remain rough to very rough, and the fisherfolk have accordingly been advised against venturing into the waters. All off-shore activities in the region have also been suspended while the cyclone’s impact persists.

For more information and detailed coverage of Cyclone Mocha's intensification, movement and impact, stay tuned to The Weather Channel India.

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