KARACHI: The tropical cyclone Biparjoy over the southeast Arabian Sea has turned into a “very severe cyclonic storm”, but poses no danger to the country’s coast, the Met department said on Wednesday.

“The severe cyclonic storm has moved further northward during the past 12 hours and intensified into a very severe cyclonic storm,” the department stated in its alert.

The cyclonic storm is at a distance of about 1,260km south of Karachi. The maximum sustained surface winds of 110-120km per hour are around the system’s centre, accompanied by gusts reaching 140km per hour, it added.

Speaking to Dawn, Chief Meteorologist Dr S. Sarfaraz explained that favourable environmental conditions were giving strength to the cyclonic storm.

“This includes favourable sea surface temperature of 30-32°C, low vertical wind shear and upper-level divergence. The system is likely to intensify further and move in northwest direction towards Oman,” he said, adding that this was the first pre-monsoon cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea this year.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2023