Cyclone Asna Live Tracker: Rare Monsoon Cyclonic Storm To Form Over Arabian Sea During Next 6 Hours, Says IMD

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted the formation of a cyclone over the north Arabian Sea, off the coast of Gujarat, on Friday, August 30.

In its latest press release on August 30, IMD stated that the deep depression over Saurashtra, Arabian Sea and Pakistan moved west-southwestwards with a speed of 5 kmph and will emerge into the northeast Arabian Sea off Kachchh and adjoining areas of the North Arabian Sea and Pakistan coasts and intensify into a Cyclonic Storm (CS) during next 6 hours.

Thereafter, it would continue to move nearly west-northwestwards over the northeast Arabian Sea away from the Indian coast during the subsequent 2 days.

The meteorological department has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places on August 30 and over coastal districts on August 31.

Wind speeds of up to 85 kmph are also expected along and off Gujarat coasts and off north Maharashtra coasts until August 31. Fishermen have been advised against venturing out into the sea along and off the Gujarat coast and north Maharashtra coasts till Saturday, August 31.

The above map shows the live location of Cyclone Asna and the tracking for the next 48 hours. Check Cyclone Asna's route, map as the depression relaises into a cyclonic storm on Friday.

The deep depression which will intensify into a Cyclonic storm will be named "Asna", a name provided by Pakistan. Asna in Urdu means "The One To Be Acknowledged Or Praised."

The name is part of the new list of tropical cyclone names adopted by WMO/ESCAP Panel member countries in April 2020 for the naming of tropical cyclones over the North Indian Ocean including the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.

It will be only the second such cyclone to develop in the Arabian Sea during August since 1964. It will also be the 4th land cyclone in 80 years forming over the Arabian Sea, previously such a deep depression active on land transitioned into a cyclone to the Arabian Sea in the years 1944, 1964, and 1976.

As per Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre for Tropical Cyclones over North Indain Ocean, there are very few tropical cyclones during the Southwest Monsoon season as it is characterized by the presence of strong westerly winds in the lower troposphere (below 5 km) and very strong easterly winds in the upper troposphere (above 9 km). This results in large vertical wind shear and strong vertical wind shear inhibits cyclone development. Also, the potential zone for the development of cyclones shifts to north Bay of Bengal during the southwest monsoon season. During this season, the low-pressure system up to the intensity of depressions form along the monsoon trough, which extends from northwest India to the north Bay of Bengal. The Depression forming over this area crosses the Orissa – West Bengal coast in a day or two. These systems have shorter oceanic stays which is also one of the reasons for their non-intensification into intense cyclones.

Cyclone Remal made landfall on West Bengal and Bangladesh's Sundarban Delta, just near the border at 8:30 pm on Sunday, May 26 as a severe cyclonic storm.

Major parts of Gujarat were under a deluge with the weather department issuing a Red Alert across the state. Gujarat has been hit by intense rainfall over the past few days. Earlier, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) had given a warning of heavy rains in the coastal areas of Saurashtra and Kutch on Thursday. However, the situation in rain-battered Gujarat improved slightly on Thursday as the rainfall activity subsided, but Vadodara and some other parts of the state are still reeling under a flood-like situation due to overflowing rivers while the authorities continue the rescue and relief operations.

Vadodara, the worst-hit city due to recent downpour, heaved a sigh of relief as the water level of Vishwamitri river has come down from 37 feet to 32 feet in the morning. However, several low-lying areas are still inundated. More than 18,000 people have been relocated and around 1,200 people rescued from flood-affected areas in the state. In some cases, choppers were used by the security forces to take people to safer locations, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said in its latest update.

In the 24 hours ending at 6 am, Bhanvad in Devbhumi Dwarka district recorded 295 mm rainfall, while Abdasa in Kutch received 276 mm, while Kalyanpur in Devbhumi Dwarka witnessed 263 mm rainfall.

- inputs from PTI