Cyclone Biparjoy: At least 44,000 people were evacuated from coastal areas in Gujarat.
Triggered by Cyclone Biparjoy, rainfall is expected in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in the next four days, weather forecasting agency Skymet told NDTV.
Cyclone Biparjoy, after making landfall, will lose its intensity and move as a depression over south-southwest Rajasthan before moving northeast.
"By 18-19 June, the depression will be closer to Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and northwest Uttar Pradesh. These places will receive light to moderate rain and wind speed is expected to be 30-40 km per hour," Skymet vice president Mahesh Palawat told NDTV.
"Whenever a cyclone is formed in the Bay of Bengal, it has the tendency to go in the northwest direction, leading to increased rain activity in the Indian mainland on the east coast," Mr Palawat said. "However, weather systems over the Arabian Sea, usually move towards Yemen and Oman.
"This cyclonic storm, however, will move towards Pakistan and the west coast of India, leading to deficient rain in the central and eastern parts of the country. Over the next two weeks, we do not expect much rain over those parts. Coastal areas of south India, however, will experience rainfall."
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said yesterday that Cyclone Biparjoy is now completely detached from the monsoonal flow and will not have any negative impact on this year's monsoon or its performance.
IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that the cyclone helped the monsoon advance over southern parts of the peninsula by increasing the cross-equatorial flow over the Arabian Sea.
"Now, it is completely detached from the monsoonal flow. We do not expect any largescale impact either on the monsoon advance or its performance," Mr Mohapatra said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
At least 44,000 people were evacuated from coastal areas in Gujarat to temporary shelters as Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to make landfall near Jakhau port in Kutch district tomorrow evening. The cyclone is expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds, and authorities are taking precautionary measures to ensure the safety of the people.
The IMD has issued a red alert for Saurashtra and Kutch regions. According to officials, several NDRF and SDRF teams are on standby. The army is also prepared to assist in relief efforts and has stationed flood relief columns at strategic locations.