Kolkata Cloud Chasers: The group that chases cyclones, storms and lightning across Bengal

“I think it was Remel, no?”

“No, no. It was Bulbul.”

“But Fani was something else entirely.”

“And you forgot the mocha.”

Names float around the room, there are disagreements over details, affectionate corrections, a collective reminiscing that is usually reserved for school friends, former neighbors or distant relatives.

Except these aren’t people. they are hurricane – Remal, Amfan, Bulbul, Fani, Mocha.

The names once appeared on the front pages of newspapers and instantly flashed on television screens in red banners. Names associated with storms that broke trees like matchsticks, tore roofs off houses and left entire cities scrambling for shelter. These are remembered as disasters throughout Bengal. But for Kolkata cloud chasers they are remembered as encounters.

For the eight members of extreme weather photography group, Kolkata Cloud Chasers, the calendar is measured less by years than by weather events. Cyclones, storm lines, thunder and Kalbaisakhis (summer storms). They remember where they stood when the horizon went dark, where they lost the signal, where lightning struck nearby, where the forecast went wildly wrong.

For 12 years, he has spent weekends chasing the same events that most people instinctively avoid. While others head indoors at the first warning of severe weather, they study radar imagery, fuel their cars and begin driving into the pitch-black darkness.

It’s hard to explain what they want to someone who hasn’t stood in front of a storm.

Part science, part photography and part passion, storm chasing demands equal measures of patience and dedication. The atmosphere can be studied, modeled and tracked. Yet it remains stubbornly unwilling to be controlled. A storm can weaken without warning, split into two systems, disappear completely, or arrive with strength beyond forecast.

That uncertainty is what really keeps them coming back.

Because sometimes, after driving for hours on the highways of Bengal and waiting near farms whose names are barely visible on maps, the sky is an act of such scale and beauty that language begins to fail.

And for a few fleeting moments, the eight people standing beneath the wall of clouds are reminded how short human life really is.

Born from a photography club

The eight members first met through Kolkata Photographers Club, a community of about 2,500 photography lovers on Orkut, in 2009. What united them all was a fascination with weather and a desire to photograph it.

The advent of Android smartphones around 2009 proved to be game-changing. Early weather applications like AccuWeather and The Weather Channel suddenly put satellite imagery and weather updates in people’s pockets.

On 24 March 2014, a WhatsApp group was created and Kolkata Cloud Chasers was born. As weather technology improved, so did the group’s understanding of atmospheric science. What began as photography grew to include meteorology, forecasting, and field observation.

a generous team

This group comes from remarkably diverse professional backgrounds.

Navigator and Nikon Grand Prix winner Debarshi Duttgupta works in the pharmaceutical industry. Suman Kumar Ghosh is an engineer and the team’s wind-data expert. Chirasree Chakraborty, who runs a publishing business, served as one of the primary storm trackers. Debt recovery expert Joyjit Mukherjee specializes in lightning photography. Krishnendu Chakraborty works in marketing, while Diganta Gogo, an expert storm spotter, is a professional photographer. Abhishek Sehgal runs a business and is known to the team for photographing lightning. Together, they form a highly coordinated unit.

“Eight people have different roles,” says Debarshi. “Chirasree and Suman study wind data, trajectories and weather models. Joyjit and I act as navigators. Diganta and Krishnendu track the storm. We also have spotters who locate storm cells from a distance because drivers can’t do it while driving.”

A tablet mounted inside the vehicle acts as a mobile command centre. Each member contributes a different skill set, and weathering a storm often depends on them all working together.

inside storm hunting

Storm chasing begins days before anyone gets into a car. The team continuously monitors weather models, IMD reports and applications such as Windy and WeatherBug. During the pre-monsoon season, they pay special attention to the conditions developing over the Chhotanagpur Plateau of Jharkhand near Ranchi, where many Kalbaisakhis (summer thunderstorms) occur.

According to Debarshi, years of pursuit have taught him that Bardhaman serves as an important strategic point. From there, they may rapidly move deeper into Bankura, Purulia, Durgapur, Asansol or Jharkhand, depending on how the storm develops.

Routes are planned using weather forecasts, traffic conditions, travel times, and expected storm speeds. Yet even careful preparation does not provide any guarantees.

Talking about the cameras used to capture the storms, Chirashree explains that she, Diganta, Abhishek and Joyjeet use Nikon full frame DSLRs. Debarshi has a Sony mirrorless and Krishnendu uses GoPro and Fuji mirrorless. Their Storm and Cloud-Chasing Four-Wheelers (SCIF) carry recovery equipment such as winches, tow straps and sand ladders to navigate the challenging terrain.

“Our success rate is only around 20 to 22 percent. A storm can break loose, disappear completely or change direction suddenly,” says Debarshi.

When a pursuit is successful, the team attempts to position itself parallel to the storm system, allowing members to record meteorological observations and wind data, as well as photograph it.

race against the weather

One of the least understood aspects of storm chasing is the limitations of weather data.

“The data we received is already at least ten minutes old,” says Chirashree. That delay means storm chasers are effectively chasing an environment that has changed by the time they see it on their screens. Cloud formations that appear insignificant on radar may in reality already be increasingly intense. Because of this lag, navigation becomes important.

“We work on probabilities. The sailor’s role is to predict where the storm will be, not where it has been,” explains Chirashree.

She adds, “This challenge becomes particularly acute with local storms and pre-monsoon thunderstorms, which are far more difficult to predict than cyclones. Cyclonic systems can often be tracked ten days before formation. Local storms provide little warning.”

Lost roads, failed forecasts and long drives, the glamor of storm photography often obscures the reality of storm chasing. “There have been times when we have been lost in nameless villages,” says Debarshi. “We have gone through situations with almost zero visibility. There have been times when there was no mobile signal and no GPS.” Hours of planning can end without a single photo.

The team has developed its own ritual for when a chase fails. “We stop somewhere, have good food and come back,” says Debarshi, laughing.

The atmosphere remains serious, but the group deliberately keeps its spirits light. “At the end of the day, we’re photographers.”

safety before the show

Every chase starts with an escape plan. Before anyone exits their vehicle, the team identifies evacuation routes. Cars are parked facing the direction of departure. The keys remain in the ignition. When the group takes photographs, at least one member remains solely responsible for monitoring lightning activity and changing conditions.

The reason? “In those moments you go into trance,” Chirashree says with a twinkle in her eyes. “The awe of nature can make you forget that you might need to run.”

The dangers are real. Chirashree has received electric shocks through his camera tripod on three separate occasions. Team member Abhishek Sehgal was struck by lightning once overhead and he temporarily lost sensation below the waist.

“Even after taking precautions, there is still a chance of being struck by lightning,” says Debarshi.

Why do they refuse to monetize Pursuit?

Storm chasing is expensive. The cameras, communications systems, weather-monitoring equipment, recovery gear, and vehicles are all funded individually by the members.

Despite years of field observations and accumulating weather data, KCC has maintained a strict policy: the data will never be sold.

“We had decided long ago that we would never make money from this passion,” says Debarshi.

During the off-season, the team compiles their observations on lightning safety, cloud formation, and climate change into presentations, which they deliver to schools, colleges, Rotary clubs, and other institutions. Several organizations have offered payment but the group has consistently refused. “We believe that as soon as money enters the equation, it dilutes the passion.”

more than a team

Over the years, the members have become closer to family. “We have known each other for about twenty-five years,” says Chirashree. What brings them back is not the picture but the experience of encountering something colossal. After hours of driving and tracking, there comes a moment when a giant storm cell finally emerges on the horizon.

“You feel very small in front of nature. Your existence seems almost insignificant. The clouds are rolling, the thunder is rumbling, and you realize how small you are in comparison. It’s risky, but that feeling is priceless,” says Chirashree.