Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman has warned against reading too much into the storm’s slight weakening, saying on Twitter “it is highly unpredictable so please do not take it casually.”Ĭyclone Biparjoy comes less than one year after record monsoon rain and melting glaciers devastated swathes of Pakistan, claiming the lives of nearly 1,600 people. Since the drownings, local authorities have deployed police officers and lifeguards along the beaches to prevent people from going into the sea.Īuthorities in both countries have been warning residents to seek shelter and stay safe. High waves slammed into coastal roads this week, turning roads into rivers.įour boys drowned off the coast of Mumbai on Monday, Rashmi Lokhande, a senior disaster official for the regional administrative body, told CNN. In neighboring Maharashtra state, home to about 27 million people and a sizable fishing community, strong winds are expected to hit parts of the financial capital Mumbai. The provincial capital Karachi – Pakistan’s largest city, with a population of 22 million – has shut malls and businesses along the coast.Ī man films the sea, on June 13, before the arrival of Biparjoy, at Clifton Beach in Karachi, Pakistan. Plumes of dust have engulfed some parts of the province, reducing visibility and impacting the breathing of many. Mass evacuations have started in Pakistan’s Sindh province, with about 60,000 people sent to temporary shelters, according to local authorities. Landfall is expected Thursday afternoon local time, bringing the triple threat of heavy rain, damaging winds and coastal storm surges across the region, according to the India Meteorological Department. It has weakened slightly since Tuesday, sustaining winds of 150 kph (90 mph), equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane. ![]() Tens of thousands of people are being evacuated as India and Pakistan brace for the impact of Cyclone Biparjoy, which is expected to make landfall in densely populated areas across the subcontinent Thursday, putting millions of lives at risk.īiparjoy has been churning across the northeastern Arabian Sea, heading toward southern Pakistan and western India since late last week, with winds of 160 kph (100 mph) and gusts up to 195 kph (121 mph).
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