Islamabad and New Delhi
CNN
—
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated as India and Pakistan brace for the impact of Cyclone Biparjoy, which is expected to make landfall in heavily populated areas across the continent Thursday, putting millions of lives at risk.
Biparjoy has been swirling across the northeastern Arabian Sea, heading toward southern Pakistan and western India since late last week, with sustained winds of 160 kph (100 mph) and gusts of up to 195 kph (121 mph). It has weakened slightly since Tuesday, sustaining winds of 150 kph (90 mph), equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.
Landfall is expected Thursday afternoon local time, bringing the triple threat of heavy rain, damaging winds and coastal storms across the region, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Mass evacuations have begun in Pakistan’s Sindh province, with about 60,000 people sent to temporary shelters, according to local authorities. Dust plumes engulfed some parts of the province, reducing visibility and affecting breathing for many.
The provincial capital Karachi – Pakistan’s largest city, with a population of 22 million – closed malls and businesses on the beach.
AFP/Getty Images
Residents evacuated from the coastal area of Keti Bandar ahead of the expected arrival of Cyclone Biparjoy in Pakistan’s Sindh province on June 13.
Pakistan’s national carrier, PIA, has implemented a series of precautionary measures, including operating round-the-clock security to minimize any potential risk to lives or equipment.
“I have never seen wind like this in my life in my village before. People are very scared,” said Leela Ram Kohli, a resident of Sindh from Badin District.
In India’s Gujarat state, about 45,000 people have been evacuated from coastal areas, officials said Wednesday. Livestock was also moved to higher ground, some schools were ordered to close, and fishing was suspended.
Heavy rain warnings are in place in the northern Gujarat region, where total rainfall could reach 10 inches, leading to flash floods and landslides.
Akhtar Soomro/Reuters
A man films in the sea, on June 13, before the arrival of Biparjoy, at Clifton Beach in Karachi, Pakistan.
In the neighboring state of Maharashtra, home to about 27 million people and a large fishing community, strong winds are expected to hit parts of the financial capital of Mumbai. Huge waves hit coastal roads this week, turning them into rivers.
Four men drowned off the coast of Mumbai on Monday, Rashmi Lokhande, a senior disaster officer for the regional administrative body, told CNN.
Since the drowning, local authorities have deployed police and lifeguards along the beaches to prevent people from going into the sea.
Authorities in both countries warned residents to seek shelter and stay safe.
Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman cautioned against reading too much into the slight weakening of the storm, saying on Twitter “it’s unpredictable so please don’t take it lightly.”
Cyclone Biparjoy comes less than a year after record monsoon rains and melting glaciers ravaged parts of Pakistan, killing nearly 1,600 people.
On that occasion, the force of the floodwaters swept away houses, leaving tens of thousands stranded on the streets without food or clean water and vulnerable to water-borne diseases.
An analysis of last year’s floods by the World Weather Attribution initiative found that the climate crisis played a role. It says that the crisis may have increased the intensity of rain by up to 50%, which is related to a five-day downpour that hit the provinces of Sindh and Balochistan.
Akhtar Soomro/Reuters
People gather near the beach before the arrival of Cyclone Biparjoy at Clifton Beach in Karachi, Pakistan, on June 13.
The analysis also found that floods are likely to be a 1-in-100-year event, meaning there is a 1% chance of similarly heavy rainfall each year.
A study published in 2021 by researchers at the Shenzhen Institute of Meteorological Innovation and the Chinese University of Hong Kong and published in Frontiers in Earth Science, found that tropical storms in Asia may double in destructive power in the end century, with scientists. saying that the man-made climate crisis has already made them more resilient.
That year, Tropical Cyclone Tauktae, one of the strongest cyclones on record, struck the west coast of India, killing at least 26 people in five states.
Tropical cyclones are one of the most dangerous natural disasters. Over the past 50 years, these storms have led to nearly 780,000 deaths and nearly $1.4 billion worth of economic losses worldwide, according to the World Meteorological Organization.
