An image released by the Met Department shows cyclonic storm Lehar developing over the Bay of Bengal.
The intensity of Lehar, that is expected to hit Andhra Pradesh coast today, has further weakened, the weather department said. The IMD has withdrawn the cyclone warning for Andhra Pradesh and it is now expected to cross the state as depression.
Here are the latest developments:
As Lehar moves west-northwestwards towards Andhra Pradesh from the Bay of Bengal, it turned into deep depression and the wind speed has been reduced to 20 kmph.
According to an IMD bulletin on Thursday morning, Lehar lay centred at about 120 km east-southeast of Machilipatnam and 160 km south of Kakinada.
Experts say the reason the intensity has come down is because of cold temperature, wind shear and also cold wind from central India. The storm has lost much of its energy.
"There's no danger," head of the cyclone warning system in the weather office, M Mohapatra, said.
However, the weather department has said that squally winds speed reaching 50-70 kmph are likely to prevail along the coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh during next 12 hours
It also forecast rainfall at most places with isolated heavy to very heavy falls in coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam district of Puducherry (geographically a part of Andhra) till Friday.
Rainfall at most places with isolated heavy to very heavy falls would also occur over Telangana during next 36 hours.
About 35,000 people have been evacuated in the coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh where the storm was set to make landfall.
Lehar it the third storm to threaten the Andhra coast in a month. Helen had crossed the coast at Machilipatnam last week, killing six people and damaging crops over four lakh hectares.
Phailin, which hit Odisha-Andhra coast last month, had caused some crop damage and claimed one life in Srikakulam district bordering Odisha. However, the subsequent heavy rains and floods claimed 58 lives and damaged crops over 13 lakh hectares.
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