Biparjoy intensifies into ‘very severe cyclonic storm’

A cyclone in the Arabian Sea has intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS) and is 1,260 kilometers south of Karachi, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said on Wednesday but added that so far there was no threat to the Pakistani coast due to the cyclone.

The cyclone has been given the name Biparjoy, which means disaster or calamity, a name suggested by Bangladesh. “The severe cyclonic storm over the southeast Arabian Sea has intensified further into a very severe cyclonic storm ‘Biparjoy’, which is pronounced ‘Biporjoy’ and now lies near Latitude 13.5°N & Longitude 66.4°E about 1260km south of Karachi. Maximum sustained surface winds are 110-120 km/hour gust 140 km/hour around the system center,” Dr Sardar Sarfraz, chief meteorological officer (CMO) of Sindh, told The News on Wednesday.

Referring to an advisory issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), he said that due to favourable environmental conditions which include the sea surface temperature of 30-32°C, low vertical wind shear and upper-level divergence, the system is likely to intensify further and move towards the northwest direction.

“Currently, none of the Pakistan coastal areas is under any threat. The PMD’s cyclone warning center, Karachi is monitoring the system and will issue update accordingly,” Dr Sarfraz quoted the advisory as saying.

He maintained that most of the cyclones in the Arabian Sea turn towards Oman or Indian Gujarat due to upper-level divergence, but an accurate prediction could be made once the cyclone moves towards 20 degrees North. He added that they were closely monitoring the movement of the cyclone in the Arabian Sea.