The low-pressure system brewing in South East Bay of Bengal and the adjoining Andaman Sea is likely to intensify into a depression yesterday (March 20) and lead to the first cyclone in March since 2000 in the North Indian Ocean region on Monday. And if that happens, the cyclonic storm will be called Asani, the name given by Sri Lanka.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the system is predicted to move north-eastwards and reach near the north Myanmar and southeast Bangladesh coasts on March 22.  The IMD has also predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in a few places over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with isolated extremely heavy rainfall likely over the Nicobar Islands.

Read More here .

A new analysis finds extreme warming events in the ocean have increased relative to the very far past, with nearly 60% of the ocean experiencing extreme heat in 2019.

Extreme marine temperatures that were once considered rare have officially become the norm for the majority of the world’s ocean. According to a new study, more than half the marine surface is now regularly subjected to extreme heat. These abnormally high temperatures can have far-reaching negative effects on marine animals as well as the local economies that depend on them.

“We need to realize that climate change is happening as we speak.…It has also been happening for quite some time,” said study coauthor Kisei Tanaka, a marine ecologist at NOAA.

Prior to his position at NOAA, Tanaka was a research data scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. While he was there, he and Kyle Van Houtan, chief scientist at the aquarium at the time, noticed some unusual changes happening in the bay. Kelp forests were disappearing, and marine species whose normal habitat was the warmer waters of Southern California were starting to appear farther north.

Read More here .

This year’s first cyclone, Asani, is likely to form over the central Bay of Bengal on March 21. It is unlikely to cross the Indian coast but heavy rain and strong winds are expected over Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that the year’s first cyclone, Asani, is likely to form over the central Bay of Bengal on March 21. Though the cyclone is unlikely to cross the Indian coast, heavy rain and strong winds are expected over Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It will move towards Bangladesh and Myanmar after hitting Andaman.Also Read - Depression Forms Over Bay Of Bengal, IMD Issues Weather Warning For Tamil Nadu

According to IMD’s rainfall warning, scattered to fairly widespread rainfall is very likely over Andaman & Nicobar Islands during March 16- 20. While isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall can be observed over the Nicobar Islands on March 19 with extremely heavy rainfall over the Islands on March 20. Also Read - Cyclone Gulab Could Re-born as Cyclone Shaheen Over Bay of Bengal in 2-3 Days, Predicts IMD

Read More here .

Current estimates indicate that more than 1,000 people died. This makes it the deadliest tropical cyclone ever to have made landfall on the southern African subcontinent.

More recently, 2022 has also experienced intense tropical cyclones. On March 11, Cyclone Gombe, a Category 3 storm, made landfall on the Mozambique coastline.

A month earlier, Tropical Cyclone Batsirai intensified to a Category 4 storm on February 2, weakening to a Category 3 storm before making a landfall on the south African nation on February 5.

Until Idai, tropical cyclone Eline, which struck in 2000, was the most devastating tropical cyclone to make landfall in Mozambique.

After Idai, Eline was the strongest— though not the deadliest— cyclone to have hit the southern east African coast.

This ranking as the strongest was soon after challenged by tropical cyclone Kenneth, a category 4 tropical cyclone that made landfall over the border of Mozambique and Tanzania six weeks after Idai.

Read More here .

Scientists have discovered a new "secret weapon" in the battle against climate change hidden within our oceans.

The creature - a single-celled microbe - can naturally capture and store carbon.

Researchers at the University of Technology Sydney, in Australia, say it could be used to help balance carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

"This is an entirely new species, never before described in this amount of detail," said Professor Martina Doblin, the study's senior author.

Read More here .

Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary M Ravichandran on Monday said that the Deep Ocean Mission will help strengthen observations over the Indian Ocean as the country has over the years benefitted from these them for its statistical and dynamical monsoon forecast modelling.

Ravichandran was addressing the inaugural session of the International Indian Ocean Conference (IIOC) 2022 jointly organised by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), National Institute of Oceanography and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).

Read More here .