India’s Monsoon Surges as Deep Depression Forms Over Bay of Bengal
India’s southwest monsoon has kicked into high gear. Satellites have captured a massive cloud shield stretching nearly 1,000 kilometers. This marks the arrival of the season’s first deep monsoon depression over the Bay of Bengal.
The sprawling system is set to deliver widespread heavy to extremely heavy rain across eastern, central, and northern India. The intense weather will last for the next five days.
The latest thermal infrared images from the INSAT-3DS satellite reveal dense bands of towering clouds. These clouds are consolidating over the northwestern Bay of Bengal and the nearby Odisha-West Bengal coast.
The elongated cloud mass stretches nearly 1,000 km from the Andhra Pradesh coast to southern West Bengal. It pumps enormous moisture onto the Indian mainland.
Wind analyses show a clear cyclonic circulation feeding the system. The circulation draws moisture from the Bay of Bengal. At the same time, it interacts with the western arm of the monsoon trough across north India. Meteorologists link this combination to some of the season’s heaviest rain events.
According to the India Meteorological Department, the system strengthened into a deep depression on Monday morning. It had moved slowly northward at just 3 kmph over the previous six hours.
At 5:30 a.m. IST, the center sat near 21.3°N and 88.1°E over the West Bengal-North Odisha coast. It was about 40 km south of Sagar Island, 70 km east-southeast of Digha, 100 km south of Diamond Harbour, 120 km east-southeast of Balasore, and 120 km south-southwest of Canning.
The IMD expects the system to keep moving north-northwestward. It should cross the West Bengal-North Odisha coast between Balasore and Canning during the afternoon of July 27. After that, it will track inland toward eastern and central India.
Because the deep depression is moving slowly, rain will linger over several states.
Odisha is likely to see heavy to extremely heavy rainfall. Isolated spots may receive more than 21 cm of rain on July 27. Heavy to very heavy showers should continue through July 30.
Chhattisgarh can expect widespread rain with heavy to very heavy falls on July 27 and 28. Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Bihar are also set for heavy rain over the next few days.
The rain belt will gradually shift westward. East and West Madhya Pradesh should receive heavy rainfall between July 27 and 30.
Uttar Pradesh is also heading into an active spell. Heavy to very heavy rain is forecast across eastern districts through July 30. The rain will then spread into western parts of the state.
Weather experts note that the deep depression will coincide with the western arm of the monsoon axis moving across the Indo-Gangetic plains. This will significantly strengthen monsoon activity over north India.
As a result, widespread rain is expected across Delhi, Haryana, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh later this week.
The development arrives as India works to erase its seasonal rainfall deficit. With the first monsoon depression of the season now moving inland, forecasters expect rain to become widespread across much of the country through the end of July.
This should bring relief to rain-deficient regions. At the same time, it raises the risk of flooding, waterlogging, and landslides in vulnerable areas.