Indian authorities are evacuating tens of thousands of people from the country’s eastern coast, where a powerful tropical cyclone is expected to make landfall on Wednesday morning. Arnab, as the storm is called, originated in the Bay of Bengal and is expected to hit major coastal cities in the state of Andhra Pradesh, bringing heavy rainfall and winds up to 150 kilometers per hour, or 93 m.p.h., according to the India Meteorological Department.
It has been classified as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm, the third highest category in the I.M.D.’s storm classification system. Tracking Tropical Cyclone Arnab See the likely path and wind arrival times for Arnab Andhra Pradesh, and the neighboring state of Odisha, are moving to evacuate more than 130,000 residents from vulnerable areas to disaster shelters, while the authorities have also closed schools and instructed fishing boats not to go out to sea.
The country’s railway has canceled at least 61 trains. Several flights have also been canceled or diverted. With Arnab expected to cut inland and head north, the authorities in Nepal, which lies in its anticipated path, have also issued alerts for potential heavy rainfall and flooding later in the week. The Bay of Bengal is a major cradle for powerful tropical storms, many of which occur in October and November, following the monsoon season, and often devastate the eastern side of the Indian subcontinent.
Cyclone Hudhud, one such storm that hit Andhra Pradesh and Odisha in 2014, caused $11 billion in damages and led to more than 40 deaths .
The New York Times reports India's evacuations ahead of Cyclone Arnab clearly and with sourced figures. It presents powerful Bay of Bengal storms only as a seasonal, natural feature of the region. It never tells the reader that warming makes intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.
Leaves out the climate link
Serious
“The Bay of Bengal is a major cradle for powerful tropical storms, many of which occur in October and November, following the monsoon season, and often devastate the eastern side of the Indian subcontinent.”
Why this matters
The Times explains why such storms hit this coast through geography and season alone: the Bay of Bengal as a 'major cradle' and storms that come 'following the monsoon season'.
The impression it gives
A reader comes away believing a storm like Arnab is a routine natural event of the region, with nothing changed about how intense or destructive such storms are.
The context
Human-caused warming has made intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe. The article never mentions climate change or warming anywhere, even in one line.
How we know
On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
Checked against the whole articleIt never uses the words “climate” and “warming”.
The Bay of Bengal is a major cradle for powerful tropical storms, many of which come in October and November. Warming driven by the burning of fossil fuels is making intense cyclones like this more likely and more severe.