#Yaas: Kolkata storm chasers regret lockdown – Times of India

Kolkata News
For the past year, Chirasree Chakraborty and seven members of Kolkata Cloud Chasers (KCC) have been missing their adventures big time. Just like the Amphan days, the photography group will have to sit at home during Yaas. Even though they are happy to maintain the government guidelines and COVID protocols, all of them agreed they would have been happier if they could spend the Wednesday near Balasore, Odisha.

Precise knowledge
Just the way a wildlife photographer tries to capture wild animals, birds and insects; a storm chaser tracks a storm and tries to take photograph it from the closest possible proximity. Now, chasing storms are not just dangerous, but needs sound knowledge of weather phenomenon. According to Chirasree, a member, there are three important parts to the job. “Tracker, Spotter and Navigator. A tracker takes account of the storm when it is forming. A spotter’s job is to calculate from where the best possible shots will be captured and finally a navigator takes the team to that exact location,” she added.
Another member Debarshi Duttagupta said that since none of the group members is weather scientists, they mostly depend on different weather forecast systems like IMD. “Besides, after years of studying storms, we have got some experience that helps us read the weather phenomena that creates a storm,” he said. Besides Debarshi and Chirasree , other members are Joyjeet Mukherjee, Diganta Gogoi, Suman Kumar Ghosh, Krishnendu Chakraborty, Abhishek Saigal and Indranil Kar.

Finally capturing photos
After being sure that there will be a storm, the team tries to calculate the exact location and time of the landfall or formation and reach there on time. “The last storm we chased was Bulbul in November 2019. We went to Sagardwip to get some photos of the storm and the cloud,” Chirasree added. They often go to the location by car and try to find an open field. Along with the cloud, the photographers try to capture lightning and other weather phenomena.
Danger
The hobby is actually more dangerous than it sounds. Standing in the open and facing a windblast over 150 kilometres per hour is not a joke. “We always stay cautious about flying debris and projectile. But more than that, the lightning is the biggest problem,” Debarshi said. Along with that, the team had often faced issues from the locals. At the time of the storm when everyone is rushing to their house, a group of people trying to find an open space is enough to create suspicion among the locals. “Besides, we wear similar t-shirts and carry our camera bags. In most cases, the locals would let us be once we explain to them what we are there for,” Chirasree said.

Not this year
The team members consider these dangers more of an occupational hazard and it would be redundant to say that they are somewhat regretting the lockdown. “Even during Amphan, we couldn’t move. Since the cyclone moved past Kolkata, we got some good photos. But in the case of Yaas, we won’t get much. We have taken some cloud photos from our roof and that’s it,” Debarshi said.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/yaas-kolkata-storm-chasers-regret-lockdown/articleshow/82945889.cms