Cyclone intensifies into Cyclonic Storm, says PMD

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Friday a potential cyclone that had developed over the Rann of Kutch in India was 200km east/southeast of Karachi has intensified further into a Cyclonic Storm (CS).

As per the PMD alert issued today, “the system is likely to keep moving further west/southwestwards in northeast Arabian Sea along Sindh coast”.

“Under its influence, widespread rain/wind-thunderstorms with scattered heavy/very heavy and isolated extremely heavy falls likely in Karachi division, Tharparker, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, Hyderabad, T.M Khan, T.A Yar, Matiari, Umerkot, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Jamshoro, Dadu & Shaheed Benazirabad districts till 31 August,” the PMD said.

Heavy rains and stormy winds already began in the afternoon and Rescue 1122 officials said some incidents of damage had been reported.

“Trees have fallen in three separate areas,” Rescue 1122 stated.

The Met office had said that heavy rains may create water logging/rain inundation in low lying areas of Sindh-Makran coast while sea conditions are likely to remain rough/very rough with squally winds 50-60 Km/hour gusting 70Km/hour.

“Fishermen of Sindh are advised not to venture into sea till 31 August and those of Balochistan till 1st September due to the cyclonic storm.”

Parts of Karachi received 147 mm (5.79 inches) of rain overnight, the local weather office said, while the city’s mayor, Murtaza Wahab, in a post on X, asked residents to avoid “unnecessary movement”.

The formation of a cyclonic storm over the Arabian Sea in August was a rare occurrence, the Indian Express newspaper reported, saying the last such storm was in 1964.