BackCyclone Nisarga to strike pandemic-hit Mumbai
A low-pressure area earlier, it is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm todayThe storm is expected to make landfall on the Konkan coast on the morning of 3 June
PremiumNEW DELHI : Tropical cyclone Nisarga is headed for the Maharashtra coast, and it’s going to make landfall on 3 June close to Mumbai. After over a week of monitoring, on 31 May, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced its forecast of a storm brewing near the Lakshadweep islands in the Arabian Sea.
A low-pressure area at the time, it has now intensified into a depression, and will further intensify into a cyclonic storm by the morning of 2 June. Once it does, it will be named Cyclone Nisarga.
This will be the first time that a cyclone will make landfall on the Maharashtra coast in June since record-keeping began in 1891.
Vineet Kumar, who studies tropical cyclones at the Climate Research Lab at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology’s (IITM) Centre for Climate Change Research, Pune, says the exact location of landfall will be clearer later on Monday. “Most of the models agree with the IMD, which says that this will be between north Maharashtra and south Gujarat coast, somewhere between Mumbai and Surat. As per the current scenario, it might be around Dahanu," he said. Dahanu is a little over 100km north of Mumbai in Maharashtra’s Palghar district.
IMD puts the point of landfall as between Harihareshwar (184km south of Mumbai) and Daman (177km north of Mumbai) on the morning of 3 June.
A clearer view will be available later on 2 June.
However, Mumbai needs to be worried because the IMD’s forecast track for the cyclone passes right over Mumbai at the point of landfall. The IMD forecasts winds of between 80 and 105kmph, with wind gusts of up to 125kmph around the time it makes landfall.
“We are watching the situation and expecting very heavy rainfall of over 12 cm on 3 June and 4 June in Mumbai," said K.S. Hosalikar, deputy director general at IMD.
The cyclone is expected to intensify over the next 24 hours, riding on conducive ocean temperatures. However, the cyclone is not expected to be stronger than a Category 1 storm. This might still be enough to give Mumbai sleepless nights. Given wind gusts and a storm surge, even a Category 1 storm might be enough to wreak severe havoc on the city. The monsoon is set to reach the city around 10 June. The city’s resilience will be tested again, for months.
Prabhat Rahangdale, deputy municipal commissioner (disaster Management), Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, said, “Nearly 200 teams are on standby for flood rescue and any kind of disaster in slums and societies near the shoreline. We are fully prepared for any life-threatening situation that may arise due to heavy rains."
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