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Gandhinagar: The deep depression over Gujarat that brought heavy rain and thundershowers to the state for days on Friday intensified into cyclone Asna off the coast of Kachchh and the adjoining areas of Pakistan, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The weather department added that the cyclone Asna, a name given by Pakistan, is the first cyclonic storm in the Arabian Sea in August since 1976.
Asna in Urdu means "the one to be acknowledged or praised".
Where Is Cyclone Asna Moving?
The deep depression over Gujarat's Kachchh moved westward from the Northeast Arabian Sea with a speed of 6 kmph during the past 6 hours. It intensified into cyclonic storm 'Asna' and lay centered at 1130 hours over the same region. It, as per IMD, will continue moving nearly west-northwestwards over the northeast Arabian Sea, which is away from the Indian coast in the next two days, the weather department added, as per PTI.
Why Is This Storm Surprising
The storm has been a surprising fact for those who study it. Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, former secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said it was different to see the weather system over the North Arabian Sea intensifying into a cyclonic storm, reported PTI.
"During our training we learnt from our teachers and textbooks that the North Arabian sea becomes colder during the monsoon season due to ocean upwelling and no weather system can intensify over there," he added, quoted PTI.
He further asked, "How does this happen? The Arabian sea is warming up as a part of global warming. But we need to understand the mechanisms better. It is high time we need to revise meteorology textbooks describing the dynamics of monsoon weather systems by incorporating this kind of new information and insights. We need to be better prepared for climate change adaptation strategies".
Previous Storms In Arabian Sea
Before this, in between 1891 and 2023, only three cyclonic storms formed in the Arabian Sea in August (1976, 1964, and 1944), the IMD said. It added that the 1976 cyclone originated over Odisha and entered the Arabian Sea, following a looping track, quoted PTI.
The cyclone then weakened over the northwest Arabian Sea near the Oman coast. Other short-lived cyclones include the one which intensified after emerging into the Arabian Sea before weakening in 1944. The other was in 1964, which developed near the South Gujarat coast and weakened near the coast, the PTI added
Gujarat Rain Fury
Massive rain in Gujarat has severely flooded the state with multiple structures inundated. Over 18,000 people, PTI reported, have been relocated and 1,200 were rescued from flood-affected areas. Around 26 have lost their lives due to the calamitous weather.
Multiple disaster management agencies and the Indian Air Force have begun a rescue operation to save those stranded. In some cases, security forces used helicopters to evacuate people to safer locations, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).