Cyclone Ditwah Forms In Bay Of Bengal, Expected To Approach TN–AP–Puducherry Coast By November 30

After Cyclone Senyar, another cyclonic system—named Ditwah—has formed over the Bay of Bengal and is projected to near the Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coast around November 30, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Thursday. While Cyclone Senyar, which intensified in the Strait of Malacca, has drifted away from India and is expected to weaken into a depression, a parallel low-pressure system over the southwest Bay of Bengal has strengthened into a cyclonic storm.

IMD stated that the newly formed Cyclone Ditwah emerged close to Pottuvil and is currently positioned around 700 km southeast of Chennai. It is forecast to track north-northwestward and reach the region off the north Tamil Nadu–Puducherry–south Andhra Pradesh coastline by early November 30. The name ‘Ditwah’ was contributed by Yemen in the official list of tropical cyclone names for the North Indian Ocean.

In an update posted on X, the IMD confirmed the storm’s formation at 6.9°N and 81.9°E at 11:30 am. They added that it lay nearly 90 km south-southeast of Batticaloa and will continue its movement toward the Indian coastline. Several districts in Tamil Nadu—including Chennai, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Thiruvallur and others—have been placed under yellow and orange alerts for November 27 to 29.

Meanwhile, Cyclone Senyar, which formed unusually in the Strait of Malacca, has been described by weather experts as a rare and historic occurrence, as no storm of such intensity has previously been recorded in that narrow stretch of water. According to Malaysia’s MetMalaysia agency, the system is moving towards Sumatra with sustained winds near 83 kmph and is likely to bring heavy rain, strong winds and rough seas to northern Malaysian states. Many meteorologists have called Senyar one of the rarest cyclones ever observed in the region, with some suggesting it could become the first documented tropical cyclone to make landfall on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia.