Cyclone Montha brings heavy rains and strong winds

Cyclone Montha made landfall along India’s eastern coast late Tuesday, bringing torrential rain and strong winds, the national weather office said.

At least one person was killed, local media reports said.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said on X that the Severe Cyclonic Storm Montha has weakened into a Cyclonic Storm over coastal Andhra Pradesh, in south India.

“It is likely to move nearly northwestwards across coastal Andhra Pradesh and maintain its intensity of cyclonic storm during next 6 hours, and weaken further into a deep depression during subsequent 6 hours,” the IMD post said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the IMD announced the commencement of the landfall process and said the “severe cyclonic storm,” was crossing the coast of Andhra Pradesh, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 90-100 kilometres (55-60 miles) per hour.

Millions expected to be impacted

Authorities have evacuated tens of thousands of residents from low-lying areas and set up more than 1,900 relief camps.

Nara Lokesh, a minister in the Andhra Pradesh state government, said that about 4 million people may be affected.

Local media reported that heavy rain earlier in the day flooded parts of the state’s coastal districts and forced the cancellation of more than 30 flights.

Schools and colleges were ordered shut in many districts, train services were disrupted, and fishing activities were suspended.

State officials said 19 districts could be affected, with early reports of flooding and crop damage in coastal regions.

The neighbouring state of Odisha was also placed on alert for heavy rain.

Climate change behind intensifying storms

Cyclone Montha is the latest in a series of increasingly intense storms to hit India’s eastern coast.

In 2023, India’s deadliest cyclone season left 523 people dead and caused an estimated $2.5 billion (€2.15 billion) in damages.

Scientists link warming ocean temperatures, which cause intensifying storms, to climate change.

“Global warming is increasing the air temperature and is also making oceans warm,” Akshay Deoras, a meteorologist at the University of Reading in England, told the WTX news agency. “And if an ocean is very warm, it is going to supply a lot of energy to any tropical storm over the ocean.”