Kolkata: A low-pressure system is set to form near east-central Bay of Bengal between May 16 and 22. It may develop into a depression, said the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) on Sunday.

Since such systems developed into cyclones in May over the last five years, this one, too, could swell into a big system, said a section of weather scientists."It is still too early to predict how far the system will progress. We are monitoring it and will have a better idea in the next three to four days," said RMC weather scientist H R Biswas.As many as five cyclones hit the Bengal-Bangladesh and Bengal-Odisha coasts in the last five years sinceSuper Cyclone Amphan wreaked havoc on south Bengal and roared through Kolkata on May 20, 2020. The frequency of cyclones hitting the region during this period has been higher than ever in recorded meteorological history, said some meteorologists. The reasons, they say, are multifarious, including a rise in sea-surface temperature due to global warming.Cyclone Dana was the last to hit the eastern coast. It hit the Odisha coast in Oct 2024.