E-Paper
Cyclone Asna: Depression over Arabian Sea intensifies near Gujarat coast
The cyclonic storm is at present about 190km west-northwest of Bhuj and 100km west-northwest of Naliya in Gujarat, and 170km southeast of Karachi in Pakistan.
The deep depression over the Kutch coast and adjoining areas of Pakistan and northeast Arabian Sea has moved westwards and intensified into cyclonic storm ‘Asna’ (pronounced as ‘As-Na’), and lay centered in the same region around 11.30am on Friday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The cyclonic storm is at present about 190km west-northwest of Bhuj and 100km west-northwest of Naliya in Gujarat, and 170km southeast of Karachi in Pakistan.
It is likely to continue west-northwestwards over northeast Arabian Sea, away from the Indian coast, over the next two days and move further away from the Indian coast towards Oman, the IMD said.
Parts of Kutch and the Saurashtra region saw the highest amount of rainfall in the state in the eight-hour period between 6am and 2pm on Friday. Mundra in Kutch district received the most (26mm), followed by Patan-Veraval in Gir Somnath district (18mm). Dwarka town in Devbhumi Dwarka district recorded 16mm of rainfall, while Anjar in Kutch received 15mm of rainfall in this period.
Read more: More rain likely in Gujarat, IMD predicts cyclonic storm Asna
As a precautionary measure, Kutch district collector Amit Arora has asked people living in Abdasa, Mandvi and Lakhpat talukas to leave their huts and makeshift houses and take shelter in schools or other stable buildings in wake of the approaching storm.
The development of cyclonic storms over the Arabian Sea in the month of August is a rare phenomenon. However, during 1891-2023, three cyclonic storms developed over the Arabian Sea (1976, 1964, 1944).
The one in 1976 developed over Odisha and moved west-northwestwards before emerging into the Arabian Sea. It made a looping track and weakened over northwest Arabian Sea near the Oman coast. The 1944 cyclone intensified after emerging into the Arabian Sea and subsequently weakened. Another short cyclone developed near the south Gujarat coast and then weakened in 1964.
Similarly, in the last 132 years, there have been 28 such systems over the Bay of Bengal in August, the IMD said.
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Considering the existing environmental conditions, the sea surface temperature is 28-30 degrees Celsius over the Bay of Bengal, and around 27-28 degrees Celsius over the Arabian Sea. It is colder (<26 degree C) over west-central Arabian Sea and very warm (>32 Degree C) over the Gulf of Aden.
The deep depression over Saurashtra and Kutch will encounter colder sea conditions in the Arabian Sea and hence will not intensify significantly.
Meanwhile, the well-marked low-pressure area over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal, off north Andhra Pradesh and southern Odisha, moved west-northwestwards and lay over the same region at 11.30am on Friday.
It is likely to move further west-northwestwards towards north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha coasts, before intensifying into a depression over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal during the next 36 hours, the IMD warned.
The well-marked low-pressure area over central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal is likely to bring very heavy rainfall over Odisha, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Vidarbha (Maharashtra) and Telangana in the next 2-3 days.
