{"id":46,"date":"2026-10-26T09:20:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/cyclone-arnab-26-red-alert-india\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T09:20:37","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T09:20:37","slug":"cyclone-arnab-26-red-alert-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/cyclone-arnab-26-red-alert-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclone ARNAB-26: Red Alert for India as 3 Million Are Exposed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wf-keyfacts\">\n<p>AT A GLANCE<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Red alert for tropical cyclone ARNAB-26 in the North Indian basin<\/li>\n<li>Maximum wind speed of 204 km\/h in the alert summary<\/li>\n<li>About 3 million people exposed to Category 1 winds or higher<\/li>\n<li>Country affected: India, with high vulnerability<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Tropical cyclone ARNAB-26 is a hurricane-strength storm in the North Indian basin, and it has been given a Red alert, the highest level in the international disaster monitoring system. The alert summary gives a maximum wind speed of 204 km\/h, and about 3 million people in India are estimated to be exposed to winds of Category 1 strength (120 km\/h) or higher.<\/p>\n<h2>What is tropical cyclone ARNAB-26?<\/h2>\n<p>ARNAB-26 is a tropical cyclone in the North Indian basin. It is classed as a Hurricane\/Typhoon, meaning its winds are above 74 mph. It became active on Monday 26 October, and the latest update we have was issued at 06:00 GMT that day.<\/p>\n<p>A Red alert is the top level of concern. It is given when a storm is strong and a significant number of people are in the area where damaging winds are expected. That is the case here.<\/p>\n<h2>Where is the cyclone now?<\/h2>\n<p>The latest position places the centre of ARNAB-26 at about 15.3 degrees north and 88.4 degrees east, which is over the water of the North Indian basin. The alert names India as the country affected, and rates its vulnerability as high. Vulnerability is a measure of how well a region can cope with a storm of this kind, so a high rating means the same winds can cause more trouble there.<\/p>\n<p>We do not have a forecast track in the information available, so we cannot say where or when the storm could make landfall. We will not guess at that.<\/p>\n<h2>How strong is ARNAB-26?<\/h2>\n<p>The alert summary gives a maximum wind speed of 204 km\/h. A second line in the alert gives a slightly lower figure of 185 km\/h for the same storm, so the exact strength is described in slightly different ways. Either way, this is well above the 120 km\/h threshold for Category 1 and is firmly in hurricane territory.<\/p>\n<p>Winds at this level can damage weak structures, bring down trees and power lines, and make travel dangerous. Those are general effects of storms of this strength, not reports of damage from ARNAB-26. No damage or casualties are reported in our information.<\/p>\n<h2>Who could be affected?<\/h2>\n<p>The estimate is that about 3 million people, 3.049 million to be precise, live in the area exposed to Category 1 winds or higher. Only India is named as an affected country. The figure covers people exposed to the strong winds, so it does not mean that many people will be harmed. It shows the scale of the population in the storm&#8217;s reach.<\/p>\n<h2>Forecasts for nearby cities<\/h2>\n<p>Several large cities lie within roughly 1,200 km of the cyclone&#8217;s position. Their forecasts below are simply what is expected there. Nothing in the alert says their weather is caused by ARNAB-26.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Kolkata<\/strong> (810 km away): mostly sunny on Monday 26 October, then rain on Tuesday 27 October with 3.7 mm, and more on Wednesday 28 October with 7.7 mm. Winds stay light, at 17 km\/h at most.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chennai<\/strong> (910 km away): cloudy and dry through all three days, with winds of 19 to 23 km\/h.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dhaka<\/strong> (970 km away): cloudy on Monday 26 October, mostly sunny on Tuesday 27 October, then rain on Wednesday 28 October with 1.6 mm. Winds are light.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bengaluru<\/strong> (1,190 km away): cloudy and dry on all three days, with winds up to 19 km\/h.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>None of these forecasts show strong winds or heavy rain. Kolkata has the wettest outlook, but the amounts are modest.<\/p>\n<h2>What it means for you<\/h2>\n<p>If you live on the east coast of India, or you have family or travel plans there, keep a close eye on local updates over the coming hours and days. Because we do not have a landfall forecast, it is sensible to be prepared rather than wait.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Check travel plans, including flights, trains and road journeys, before setting out.<\/li>\n<li>Keep phones charged and have a torch and basic supplies at hand in case of power cuts.<\/li>\n<li>Secure loose objects outdoors that strong wind could pick up.<\/li>\n<li>Avoid the coast and open water while strong winds are possible.<\/li>\n<li>Follow instructions from local authorities if they are issued.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For people in Kolkata, Chennai, Dhaka and Bengaluru, the forecasts above suggest ordinary conditions for now. Even so, check the latest updates, as conditions can change.<\/p>\n<h2>What happens next<\/h2>\n<p>The next steps will depend on how the cyclone moves and whether it strengthens or weakens. We will update this story as new information arrives. For now, the key facts are a Red alert, winds of up to 204 km\/h, India as the affected country, and about 3 million people in the zone of strongest winds.<\/p>\n<h2>Nearby city forecasts<\/h2>\n<div class=\"wf-table\">\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>City<\/th>\n<th>Distance<\/th>\n<th>Day<\/th>\n<th>Rain<\/th>\n<th>Wind<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Kolkata, India<\/td>\n<td>810 km<\/td>\n<td>Monday 26 October<\/td>\n<td>0.0 mm<\/td>\n<td>11 km\/h<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Kolkata, India<\/td>\n<td>810 km<\/td>\n<td>Tuesday 27 October<\/td>\n<td>3.7 mm<\/td>\n<td>14 km\/h<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Chennai, India<\/td>\n<td>910 km<\/td>\n<td>Monday 26 October<\/td>\n<td>0.0 mm<\/td>\n<td>23 km\/h<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Chennai, India<\/td>\n<td>910 km<\/td>\n<td>Tuesday 27 October<\/td>\n<td>0.0 mm<\/td>\n<td>20 km\/h<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dhaka, Bangladesh<\/td>\n<td>970 km<\/td>\n<td>Monday 26 October<\/td>\n<td>0.0 mm<\/td>\n<td>8 km\/h<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Dhaka, Bangladesh<\/td>\n<td>970 km<\/td>\n<td>Tuesday 27 October<\/td>\n<td>0.1 mm<\/td>\n<td>9 km\/h<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bengaluru, India<\/td>\n<td>1190 km<\/td>\n<td>Monday 26 October<\/td>\n<td>0.0 mm<\/td>\n<td>15 km\/h<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Bengaluru, India<\/td>\n<td>1190 km<\/td>\n<td>Tuesday 27 October<\/td>\n<td>0.0 mm<\/td>\n<td>12 km\/h<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wf-note\">Event details from international disaster monitoring (Red alert); city forecasts retrieved 26 October 2026, 09:20 UTC. Always follow your national weather service and local authorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tropical cyclone ARNAB-26 has a Red alert in the North Indian basin, with about 3 million people in India exposed to hurricane-strength winds. Here is what we know.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[29,30,28,27],"class_list":["post-46","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-storms-disasters","tag-india","tag-kolkata","tag-strong-wind","tag-tropical-cyclone"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weatherforecast.site\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}