Social media flooded with memes and appeals to take care of animals, the less-privileged
Memes circulated on Twitter throughout Wednesday
As #CycloneNisarg steadily climbed the Twitter trends on Wednesday and reached the #2 position by 3.30 pm — by which time howling winds and lashing rain had hit the island city hard — Mumbaikars and Twitterati reacted with funny memes, witty one-liners, and empathetic appeals on social media.
Since the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and Press Information Bureau of Maharashtra were regularly putting out updates about the movement of Cyclone Nisarga and warnings on various social media handles. However, there was also a whole range of memes in the #CycloneNisarg category.
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Some of them made fun of the IMD; a Twitter user who goes by the handle of @VRV_In uploaded a picture of a calm and serene Mumbai a little before sunrise, with the caption: "Sky getting clear at 5 am, not a single leaf on a tree is moving. Met Dept has maintained its record on weather forecast."
Another Twitter user @GabbarSingh tweeted: "Historically, Mumbai people have always laughed at the ones who came from Alibaug. Times have changed."
Other memes included people from Orissa and West Bengal asking Mumbaikars "First Time?" with a cheeky image of a smiling James Franco.
Lastly, a meme of actor Sonu Sood gazing into the sea while aboard a boat, read: "Sonu Sood waiting for #CycloneNisarg so that he can send it back home."
Instagram was flooded with empathetic and emotional appeals. People put up stories and posts asking others to help stray animals and offer them shelter while the cyclone raged, while others encouraged people to be kind and helpful to those on duty, such as watchmen, or the homeless.
Some Instagram users appealed to avoid ordering food via apps so that riders could be spared the trouble of delivering food.
Updates from Skymet Weather were one of the most shared and circulated on social media, with Mahesh Palawat, vice president of Meteorology and Climate Change tweeting information at regular intervals since early morning.
Close to 4 pm, Palawat tweeted: "Threat for Mumbai is almost over. Rains to continue until tonight but winds will not exceed 50 Km per hour. Eye of Cyclone Nisarga has completed landfall. Process will get completed within next one hour."
Cyclone brings a breath of fresh air
As they waited for Cyclone Nisarga to hit, Mumbaikars also woke up to exceptionally clean air on Wednesday morning. The city's Real-Time Air Quality Index (AQI) fluctuated between 37 and 43, indicating that the air quality was considered "satisfactory" and that air pollution posed "little or no risk".
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