After stirring in the Arabian Sea for over a week, Cyclone Biparjoy neared the coastline of western India and southern Pakistan on 16 June 2023. Biparjoy is located 232 km southeast of Pakistan, Karachi, and has been tracked moving northeastwards at 11 km/h (6 knots) over the past 6 hours.
According to the animated radar data from India and Pakistan, the broad and ragged radar eye of Biparjoy crossed the coast near the town of Naliya, in Kutch district of Gujarat India by 18:00 UTC hour.
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The initial intensity remains set at 100 km/h (55 knots) with medium confidence based on a number of factors including a PGTW current intensity estimate of T3.5.
The cyclone is likely moving towards Rajasthan today and may cause heavy rainfall in Jaisalmer, Ajmer, Udaipur, and other southern districts.
After the massive destruction in Gujarat, two districts of Rajasthan-Jalore and Barmer are currently witnessing heavy rainfall due to the cyclone. According to the weather officials, 69 mm of rainfall was recorded in Jalore till this morning. A red alert for Jalore and Barmer has been sounded by the department.
Besides, the cyclonic storm may also cause rainfall in Rajsamand, Dungarpur, and nearby areas today.
As of now, no such effect of the Biporjoy cyclone in Madhya Pradesh is seen, said Ashfaq Hussain, Meteorologist, IMD Bhopal.
He stated, “After June 16 and 17 Biporjoy will have its impact over Rajasthan and after June 18 and 19, when it becomes low pressure, there will be a possibility of light moderate rain and heavy rain at some places of Gwalior-Chambal region in the northern parts of Madhya Pradesh”.
Strong winds with a speed of 100 to 95 kilometres per hour are expected in the adjoining areas of Jaisalmer, Barmer, Jalore, and Jodhpur today and adjoining areas of Jodhpur, Udaipur, and Ajmer will face the same weather conditions.
As cyclone Biparjoy approaches the southern part of the state, the Rajasthan government has deployed eight companies of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) in Jaipur, Kota, Bharatpur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, and Bikaner and one company of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Kishangarh in the Ajmer district.
Due to the “red” and “orange” alerts, the local government in the impacted districts has also made preparations, such as setting up pumps and deploying civil defence and disaster management teams.
