India’s coasts will be lashed by ‘high energy swell waves’ on Saturday and Sunday, hence fishermen as well as beach-loungers ought to be staying away, according to an alert from the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA).
“There is a strong indication that high energy swell waves, with heights between 2 m and 3 m and periods between 17-22 seconds are likely to be experienced in the seas around India,” the note adds. This is based on a forecast from the Hyderabad-based Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), which is charged with issuing tsunami alerts.
Wind-triggered ripples
‘Swell waves’ are massive ripples that form on the sea due to winds coming from as far away as Madagascar. “They might appear to be tsunami-like waves but have completely different characteristics,” said M. Ravichandran, director, National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research.
The waves will be first experienced along the western coast of India and Lakshdaweep by the morning hours of Saturday i.e., April 21 and subsequently along the Bay of Bengal by Sunday, April 22.
The wave impact in the Bay of Bengal could be particularly high off the west coast of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
In the Bay of Bengal, the high swell-wave regime is likely decrease only by around Tuesday (April 24). However, the swell energy is likely to be higher on Monday in the Bay of Bengal. The low-lying coasts of Kerala and West Bengal are particularly vulnerable, the NDMA adds.
