Potential to become a strong tropical depression within 48 hours

A low-pressure area forming in the northern Bay of Bengal has the potential to develop into a strong tropical depression within the next 48 hours, according to a statement released by the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology at 10:30 AM on September 20. The low-pressure area has reached the central-eastern Bay of Bengal (near the coast of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta), which is connected to the northern Bay of Bengal, it is said. The statement indicates that the low-pressure area is expected to strengthen further within the next 24 hours, becoming a tropical depression in the central-eastern Bay of Bengal, and within the next 48 hours, it is expected to become a strong tropical depression in the central-western Bay of Bengal. For the sea areas along the Tanintharyi coast and the Rakhine coast from Yangon, the weather forecast states that there will be widespread thunderstorms within the next 24 hours, with the possibility of localized heavy rainfall.