Cyclone Set to Bring Heavy Rain to Sindh, Balochistan Districts

News Desk

Islamabad: The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has forecast widespread wind-dust and thunderstorm rain with some very heavy or extremely heavy falls in various districts of Sindh and Balochistan during June 14-17 due to the Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) BIPARJOY over the Northeast Arabian Sea.

The BIPARJOY over the northeast Arabian Sea moved north-northeastward during the last 6 hours and now lies near Latitude 21.7 N and Longitude 66.4 E at a distance of about 370km southwest of Karachi, 355km south-southwest of Thatta, and 290km south-southwest of Keti Bandar.

Maximum sustained surface winds are 150-160 km/hour with gusts of 180 km/hour around the system centre and sea conditions are phenomenal around the system centre with a maximum wave height of 30 feet. The favourable environmental conditions (sea surface temperature of 29-30°C, low vertical wind shear, and upper-level divergence) are in place to sustain its strength through the forecast period.

Under the existing upper-level steering winds, the VSCS BIPARJOY started to recurve north-north-eastward and likely cross between Keti Bandar (southeast Sindh) and the Indian Gujarat coast on June 15 evening as a VSCS with packing winds of 100-120 km/hour gusting to 140 km/hour.

PMD’s cyclone warning centre in Karachi is continuously monitoring the system and will issue updates accordingly. With its probable approach to the southeast Sindh coast, widespread wind-dust/thunderstorm rain with some very heavy or extremely heavy falls accompanied with squally winds of 80-100 km/hour gusting 120 km/hour are likely in Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Tharparker, Mirpurkhas, and Umerkot districts during June 14-17.

Dust or thunderstorm-rain with a few heavy falls and accompanied by squally winds of 60-80 km/hour are likely in Karachi, Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, TandoAllayar, Shaheed Benazirabad, andSanghar districts from June 14-16.

Dust, thunder, and rain with isolated heavy falls are likely in Hub and Lasbela districts of Balochistan during June 14-16. Squally (high-intensity) winds may cause damage to loose and vulnerable structures (Kutcha houses), including solar panels, etc. A storm surge of 3-3.5 metres (8–12 feet) is expected at the landfall point (Keti Bandar and around) which can inundate the low-lying settlements.

Sea conditions along the Sindh coast may get very rough or high (2-2.5 metres) and rough or very rough (2 metres) along the Balochistan coast (Sonmiani, Hub, KundMalir, Ormara, and surroundings). Fishermen are advised not to venture into the open sea until the system is over by June 17.