Indus Valley Times

Mumbai,June 12 :  Several parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, received rainfall on Sunday evening. High tidal waves and gusty winds hit Mumbai, while other coastal parts of the state also witnessed strong winds as Cyclone Biparjoy intensified into a cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea. The cyclonic storm also impacted flight operations in the region.

“Strong winds are possible along the Maharashtra and Gujarat coasts. High waves may occur in the sea along Gujarat and Maharashtra coast,” Skymet Weather reported on Monday.

Some trees were uprooted in the aftermath of gusty winds in parts of Mumbai.

Skymet Weather stated that the severe cyclone Biparjoy over the east Central Arabian Sea has intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm.

“The cyclone is moving at a speed of 9 kmph,” the forecasting service said.

“At 0530 hours IST today (June 11), it was around 580 km west southwest of Mumbai, 480 km south-southwest of Porbandar, 530 km south-southwest of Dwarika, 610 km south-southwest of Naliya, and 780 km south of Karachi,” it stated.

Chaos ensued at Mumbai airport as passengers waited hours for their flights. While many airlines cancelled their flights in the wake of weather conditions, others were directed to abort landing in Mumbai on Sunday evening. Air India issued a statement in this regard stating delays in some of their flights.

The temporary closure of the runway was also flagged by the commercial airline.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), light to moderate spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 45-55 kmph are highly likely in isolated areas in the districts of Thane, Raigad, Mumbai, and Palghar.

Strong winds also affected the air quality and visibility in Mumbai, while high tides and waves caught tourists in Ganpatipule town in the coastal Ratnagiri district by surprise.

Meanwhile, for the past two days, Ratnagiri has witnessed the impact of a cyclonic storm in coastal areas. Ganpatipule, the pilgrimage centre of Ratnagiri, also recorded gusty winds and high tidal waves at the monsoon’s onset.

Vendors and locals were advised to refrain from visiting the coastal area in the Ratnagiri district.

THUNDERSTORM ALERT IN MAHARASHTRA

The weather agency issued a ‘thunderstorm alert’ in coastal parts of the state.

“Thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and light to moderate spells of rain with gusty winds reaching 30-40 kmph are very likely to occur at isolated places in the districts of Ratnagiri, Raigad, Thane, Palghar and Kolhapur during the next 3-4 hours. Take precautions while moving out,” the IMD stated.

Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to make landfall on the Gujarat and Pakistan coasts on Thursday but its impact has begun, coupled with the monsoon onset in the region. Weather department officials said the cyclone with heavy rainfall will be coupled with very high wind speeds between June 13 and 15. The wind speed may climb to 150 kmph, as per officials. Kutch, Jamnagar, Morbi, Gir, Devbhumi Dwarka and Porbandar districts are highly likely to be impacted.

-PTI