India, Sept. 18 -- A cyclone, the first in 2026 in the North Indian Ocean region, could form in the Bay of Bengal in the following week, with chances of moving close to the Odisha and Andhra Pradesh coasts. The exact intensity and track of the storm system will get clearer after the formation of the low pressure area and the local atmospheric and oceanic conditions it encounters.

If it forms the cyclone (which would be named Arnab) would be the first cyclone to form in the North Indian Ocean region since cyclone Ditwah in November 2025, which caused more than 600 deaths in Sri Lanka and India.

On September 17, 2026, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) indicated the presence of an upper air cyclonic circulation over north Thailand....