- Storm moving towards the west-southwest, explains Met Office.
- Cyclone Shakti is located 480 km Southwest of Karachi.
- Winds from 40 to 55 km / h await along the Sindh coast.
Karachi: the serious cyclonic storm Shakti, which is currently swirling on the Northeast Arabian Sea, should not make land along the Sindh coast, The news reported on Sunday.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said that the cyclone, however, would provide agitated sea conditions, strong winds and light rains in coastal neighborhoods during the weekend.
According to the Tropical Alert Center of the Met Office in Karachi, Shakti was located about 480 kilometers southwest of Karachi on Saturday evening.
The storm moved to the west-southwest and is likely to move further in the northwest and the adjacent central parts of the Oman Sea before bending the East-North-East Sunday.
Meteorologists expect him to gradually weaken after reapprising, reducing the threat of any direct land in Pakistan.
The PMD said that although the cyclone has no immediate danger for the Sindh coast, its external rain bands can cause isolated showers in the districts of Badin, Thsta, Sujawal, Hub, Lasbela, Awaran and Kech.
Karachi should remain partially cloudy and humid, but moderate to strong precipitation is unlikely unless the system is close to the coast.
The sea conditions, however, should remain dangerous for small boats and fishing ships.
Winds of 40 to 50 kilometers per hour, gusts up to 55 kilometers per hour, are expected along the Sindh coast, while near the center of the storm, the windshield winds could reach 120 kilometers per hour with gusts up to 135 kilometers per hour.
The PMD strongly advised fishermen to avoid venturing into the waters on the high seas until the least on Sunday evening.
Explaining the dynamics of the cyclone, the meteorological experts said that Shakti formed due to an intense convection on the hot temperatures of the surface of the sea exceeding 31 ° C in the Northeast Arabian Sea – a common condition for cyclogenesis in early October.
The system quickly intensified in a “severe cyclonic storm” because it pulled the energy from the air loaded with humidity and the hot layer of the upper ocean.
However, the presence of a strong higher wind shear and a drier air in its north should gradually weaken it once it moves towards cooler waters.
“The Shakti cyclone is not on a track to hit the Sindh directly, but this will create dangerous sea conditions and intermittent rains in certain coastal areas,” said a senior PMD official. “We continually monitor its trajectory and intensity, and other opinions will be issued as the system evolves.”
Satellite imaging showed on Saturday clusters of dense clouds around the rain strips of the eyes and in a spiral spreading outwards, indicating a sustained force at sea. At the end of Sunday, Shakti should move to the east-north-east and lose the intensity, becoming a deep depression before dissipating on the open waters.
The authorities, including the province of disaster management (PDMA), the Pakistani navy and coastal development agencies, were alerted to remain vigilant and to ensure the preparation in the event of sudden changes on the path or intensity of the storm.
Meteorologists have noted that the Oman Sea has increased by cyclonic activity in recent years, widely attributed to the increase in temperatures on the sea surface and to the evolution of climate models.
While most of the systems move away from Pakistan coast, the risk of high tides, overvoltages of storms and coastal floods remains important for vulnerable fishing communities along Sindh and Balutchistan.
Residents of the coastal areas have been invited to remain informed through official PMD updates, to avoid unnecessary movements near the shore and to ensure that small boats are safe until the weather conditions stabilize.
