Cyclone Asna leaves no major impact on Gujarat

New Delhi: Cyclone Asna, formed over the coast of Kutch in Gujarat earlier during the day, has moved into the Arabian sea towards Oman without leaving any major impact on the region, officials said on Friday evening.

As a precautionary measure, the local administration had shifted nearly 3,500 persons to safer locations and had asked people living in huts and mud houses to take shelter in other buildings, said Kutch district collector Amit Arora.

In a release issued on Friday evening, IMD said the deep depression over Kutch coast and adjoining areas of Pakistan had “intensified into Cyclonic Storm Asna and lay centred at 11:30 am over the same region nearly 190 km west-northwest of Bhuj”.

The IMD had earlier said a deep depression that brought torrential rains and floods to Gujarat on Friday has intensified into Cyclone Asna off the coast of Kachchh and adjoining areas of Pakistan, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported. This marks the first cyclonic storm to form in the Arabian Sea during August since 1976, highlighting the rarity of such occurrences in this region during the monsoon season.

The cyclone, named Asna by Pakistan, meaning “the one to be acknowledged or praised,” developed from a deep depression over the Kachchh coast. According to the IMD, the system moved westward at a speed of 6 kmph over the past 6 hours before intensifying into a cyclonic storm.

Historical data from the IMD reveals that between 1891 and 2023, only three cyclonic storms formed in the Arabian Sea during August, occurring in 1976, 1964, and 1944.

The 1976 cyclone, which originated over Odisha, followed an unusual path, moving west-northwestward into the Arabian Sea before weakening near the Oman coast. The 1944 cyclone intensified after entering the Arabian Sea, while the 1964 storm was short-lived, developing near the South Gujarat coast before quickly weakening.

The formation of Cyclone Asna has raised questions among climate scientists about the changing dynamics of the Arabian Sea. Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, former secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, expressed surprise at the system’s intensification in the North Arabian Sea.

“During our training, we learned that the North Arabian Sea becomes colder during the monsoon season due to ocean upwelling, preventing weather systems from intensifying there,” Rajeevan stated on social media platform X.

He further emphasized the need to revise meteorology textbooks to incorporate new information and insights, particularly in light of global warming’s effects on the Arabian Sea. “We need to be better prepared for climate change adaptation strategies,” Rajeevan added.

The IMD noted that sea surface temperatures of at least 27 degrees Celsius are typically required for low-pressure systems to develop into cyclones. Current temperatures in the Arabian Sea range from 27-28 degrees Celsius, with some areas experiencing even higher temperatures.

However, the weather agency had previously indicated that the system might encounter colder waters as it moves further into the Arabian Sea, potentially limiting its intensification.

While Cyclone Asna moves away from the Indian coast, Gujarat continues to grapple with the aftermath of recent heavy rains and flooding.

Over the past three days, rain-related incidents in the state have claimed 26 lives. More than 18,000 people have been relocated to safer areas, and approximately 1,200 individuals have been rescued from flood-affected regions, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

Vadodara, one of the hardest-hit cities, has seen some relief as water levels in the Vishwamitri river receded from 37 feet to 32 feet.

However, many low-lying areas remain submerged. The river had surpassed its danger mark of 25 feet on Tuesday following heavy rains and water release from Ajwa Dam. with agency inputs

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