Cyclone Remal: Kolkata airport to suspend ops for 21 hours from noon tomorrow
Flight operations will remain suspended for 21 hours, from 12 pm on Sunday till 9 am on Monday, as West Bengal braces for the impact of Cyclone ‘Remal’.
The authorities of Kolkata airport announced the suspension of flight operations following a meeting with the stakeholders. The weather department has issued an orange alert for Kolkata on May 26 and 27. An orange alert signifies very heavy rain between 11 cm to 20 cm, while a red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours.
A low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal has intensified into cyclonic storm Remal and is expected to make landfall between West Bengal’s Sagar Island and Bangladesh’s Khepupara at midnight on Sunday, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Extremely heavy rainfall is likely in the coastal districts of West Bengal and north Odisha on May 26 and May 27.
In Bengal, a storm surge of up to 1.5 metres is forecast to inundate low-lying areas near coast during landfall. Fshermen have been warned to stay out of the north Bay of Bengal until the morning of May 27.
The IMD issued a red alert for West Bengal’s coastal districts of South and North 24 Parganas, warning of heavy to very heavy rain with wind speeds reaching 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph on May 26 and 27. An orange alert has been issued for Kolkata, Howrah, Nadia, and Purba Medinipur districts, forecasting heavy rain with wind speeds of 80-90 kmph gusting to 100 kmph.
Remal is the first pre-monsoon cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this season.