India is bracing for another cyclonic storm even as Cyclone Senyar drifts away from the country’s coastline. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Thursday that a fresh low-pressure system over the southwest Bay of Bengal has intensified into Cyclone Ditwah, expected to influence weather along the Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and south Andhra Pradesh coast by November 30.
The development comes just as the earlier system, Cyclone Senyar, moved away from the Indian coast after forming in the Strait of Malacca—a rare meteorological event in itself.
Cyclone Senyar is a Rare Historic One?
— Chennai Weatherman (@chennaisweather) November 26, 2025
Since the Depression near the Malacca Strait has intensified into a Cyclone as expected in the earlier post. We are now witnessing one of the rarest tropical cyclone events in recorded history.
According to IBTrACS data, no cyclonic… pic.twitter.com/iYuKSqlFdf
Cyclone Senyar Weakens, Moves Away From Indian Territory
According to early Thursday updates from the IMD, Cyclone Senyar was located 850 km southeast of Car Nicobar, the northernmost point of the Nicobar Islands. The system was forecast to weaken into a depression by evening.
Cyclone Senyar formed in the Strait of Malacca, the narrow waterway between Peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra, with Singapore at its southeast end. Its formation in that region is extremely unusual, with meteorologists calling it a “rarest of rare” event.
Reports from Malaysia’s NST quoting MetMalaysia director-general Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip highlighted that this is the first time in recorded history that a weather system in the Strait of Malacca has intensified into a cyclone.
“The last one, a tropical depression, occurred in 2017 and affected Penang. But for a system to reach tropical storm intensity near Sumatra, this is a first,” he said.
MetMalaysia issued a tropical storm alert, stating the system was detected at 4.5°N and 97.9°E, moving west-southwest at 9 km/h with winds up to 83 km/h. Northern states in Malaysia were warned of heavy rain, strong winds, and rough seas.
Several weather bloggers and meteorologists described Senyar as historic, with one X user noting that forecasts from the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center indicate it could be the first-ever tropical cyclone to make landfall on Malaysia’s western coast, and only the second in history after Typhoon Vamei in 2001.
Cyclone Ditwah Forms: IMD Issues Alerts
While Senyar moved away, another circulation in the southwest Bay of Bengal, near southeast Sri Lanka and the Equatorial Indian Ocean, intensified rapidly.
In an update posted on X, the IMD confirmed the formation of Cyclone Ditwah at 11:30 am, stating:
“Cyclone Ditwah formed over the SW Bay of Bengal near 6.9°N/81.9°E at 1130 IST today. It lay close to Pottuvil, ~90 km SSE of Batticaloa and ~700 km SSE of Chennai. The system will move NNW and reach off North Tamil Nadu–Puducherry–south AP coasts by early 30 Nov.”
Ditwah, named by Yemen as per the cyclonic naming roster for the north Indian Ocean, is expected to track in a north-northwest direction, gradually approaching the Indian coast.
Alerts Issued for Tamil Nadu Districts
The IMD has placed several Tamil Nadu districts under yellow and orange alerts for November 27–29, including:
- Chennai
- Nagapattinam
- Thiruvallur
- Thanjavur
- Other coastal and adjoining districts
These regions are expected to experience:
- Heavy rainfall
- Strong winds
- Rough sea conditions
- Potential flooding in low-lying areas
Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea.
Why Cyclone Senyar Is Being Called “Historic”
Cyclone Senyar has attracted global attention because:
- It is the first-ever cyclonic storm recorded in the Strait of Malacca.
- Only a tropical depression had formed there previously, in 2017.
- Meteorologists suggest it may become the first tropical cyclone to make landfall on Malaysia’s west coast.
- Many experts called it “one of the rarest cyclones ever recorded near the Malacca Strait.”
Social media posts from weather experts have described the event as a “historic meteorological occurrence.”