Rare August cyclone likely to form over Arabian Sea on Friday: IMD

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In a rare meteorological phenomenon in the month of August, a cyclone is brewing over Saurashtra-Kutch region of Gujarat which is expected to emerge over the Arabian Sea on Friday and travel towards the Oman coast.

A national bulletin issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the deep depression over Saurashtra and Kutch is likely to move west-southwestwards and emerge over the northeast Arabian Sea off Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts and intensify into a cyclonic storm on Friday.

It will be called Cyclone Asna, a name suggested by Pakistan, when it intensifies into a cyclonic storm.

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Only three cyclonic storms have developed over the Arabian Sea in August from 1891 to 2023.

This will be the first cyclonic storm to develop over the Arabian Sea in August since 1976, the weather office said.

The cyclone in 1976 developed over Odisha, moved west-northwestwards, emerged into Arabian Sea, made a looping track and weakened over northwest Arabian Sea near Oman coast, it said.

"Development of cyclonic storms in the month of August over the Arabian Sea is a rare activity," an IMD meteorologist said.

The 1944 cyclone also intensified after emerging into the Arabian Sea and weakened subsequently mid-sea.

In 1964, a short cyclone developed near the South Gujarat coast and weakened near the coast.

Similarly, over the Bay of Bengal during the last 132 years, there have been a total of 28 such systems in the month of August.

"What is unusual about the current storm is that it has maintained the same intensity over the past few days," a scientist with the IMD said.

The tropical storm is sandwiched between two anticyclones - the one over the Tibetan Plateau and another over the Arabian Peninsula, he said.

The deep depression over Saurashtra and Kutch has pounded the region with heavy rainfall.

As per the IMD data, the Saurashtra and Kutch regions have received 799 mm of rainfall between June 1 and August 29 this year as against the normal of 430.6 mm for the same period. This accounts to 86 per cent more rainfall than normal for this duration.

Another low pressure area over central and adjoining north Bay of Bengal is likely to move west-northwestwards and become more marked over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal by Friday.

"It is likely to move towards north Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south Odisha coasts and intensify into a depression over west-central and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal by Sunday," the IMD said.

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