Cyclone Mocha being formed in the Bay of Bengal landfall expected next week

The India Meteorological Department on Wednesday said it picked up early signals of this year's first cyclone which is being closely watched to figure out its path in the Bay of Bengal and possible landfall areas.

Once formed the cyclone will be named Mocha, a name suggested by Yemen after the Red Sea port city.

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Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director general, IMD said a cyclonic circulation would form around May 6 in the Bay of Bengal, which was likely to intensify further to turn into a full blown cyclone by around May 9th.

"We are issuing a forecast even before formation of a cyclonic circulation so that the marine community could make their plans accordingly," he said, urging the fishermen not to venture into south east Bay of Bengal as the region is expected to experience squally weather with wind speed of 40-50 km per hour.

"We will issue details about the cyclone track after the formation of a low pressure area," he said.

India typically witnesses two cyclone seasons, the first one being April-May-June while the second one is in October-November-December. The month of May, according to the IMD chief, witnesses the maximum frequency of such tropical storms.