Kolkata: A deep depression on the Bay of Bengal intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and slammed into the coastal belt of West Bengal on Monday, killing at least 23 people and rendering over 150,000 homeless. Cyclone Alia, with wind speed of about 100 km per hour, uprooted trees, disrupted power supply and brought the city of Kolkata to a grinding halt.

The deep depression over the Bay of Bengal developed into a cyclone on Sunday but the weatherman said the storm, which was advancing towards the coast at 70-80km per hour, might miss Calcutta.

At 5.30pm, cyclone Aila (name chosen from a list following a convention) was 500km south of Calcutta.

Bangladesh said on Saturday a tropical storm was brewing in the Bay of Bengal and advised ports to hoist warning signals and asked all fishing boats and trawlers not to venture into deep seas.

The meteorological department said the storm packing winds up to 50 km (31 miles) per hour was 815 km (510 miles) southwest of the country's main Chittagong port at 0900 GMT on Saturday.

THE south-west monsoon is set to hit the Kerala coast in the T next 3-4 days but the early arrival of rains may not necessarily translate into an advantage for the country.

A low-pressure area currently forming over central Bay of Bengal is seen to be interfering with the forward advance of the monsoon, with the potential to neutralise the gains from its early arrival.

Low-lying Bangladesh risks devastating impacts from rising world sea levels caused by climate change with risks that millions will be forced from their homes this century, Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said.

She told Reuters that rich nations would have to help the densely populated country of 150 million people, possibly by opening their borders to environmental refugees.

Warming of the seas is rerouting monsoon THE monsoon winds are avoiding India for one-third of the months of July and August and taking a route south of its peninsula. This is because the winds have found a highly attractive low pressure region in the eastern part of the Indian Ocean near the equator. According to a study, warming of the sea surface in this region is happening at a faster

Thiruvananthapuram: Satellite data from the US National Atmospheric and Space Administration (NASA) and a new modelling approach could improve weather forecasting and save more lives when future cyclones develop.

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The National Disaster Management Authority, New Delhi, and the Regional Meteorological Centre, Kolkata, today issued a caution stating that a cyclonic storm could hit coastal parts of the state in the next 48 hours.