Kolkata airport suspends operations for 21 hours

The weather department has issued an orange warning for Kolkata for May 26 and 27. An orange warning means very heavy rain of 11 to 20 cm, while a red warning means heavy to extremely heavy rain totaling more than 20 cm within 24 hours.

A low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal has strengthened into Cyclonic Storm Remal, which is expected to make landfall between Sagar Island in West Bengal and Khepupara in Bangladesh at midnight on Sunday, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Extremely heavy rains are expected in coastal areas of West Bengal and North Odisha on 26 and 27 May.

A storm surge of up to 1.5 metres is expected upon landfall in Bengal, inundating low-lying coastal areas. Fishermen have been warned to avoid the northern Bay of Bengal until the morning of May 27.

The IMD has issued a red alert for coastal districts of West Bengal, South and North 24 Parganas, warning of heavy to very heavy rain and wind speed of 80-90 kmph with gusts up to 100 kmph on May 26 and 27. An orange alert has been issued for Kolkata, Howrah, Nadia and Purba Medinipur districts, indicating heavy rain with wind speed of 80-90 kmph and gusts up to 100 kmph.

Remal is the first pre-monsoon cyclone to hit the Bay of Bengal this season.