Cyclone Biparjoy rapidly intensifies into severe cyclonic storm

Cyclone Biparjoy the first storm brewing in the Arabian Sea this year has rapidly intensified into a severe cyclonic storm with meteorologists predicting a mild monsoon onset over Kerala and weak progress beyond southern peninsular under its influenceCyclonic storm Biparjoy pronounced as Biporjoy over eastcentral and adjoining southeast Arabian Sea moved nearly northwards with a speed of 2 kmph during the last six hours intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and lay centred over the same region at 0530 hours about 890 km westsouthwest of Goa 1000 km southwest of Mumbai 1070 km southsouthwest of Porbandar and 1370 km south of Karachi the IMD said in an update around 830 amForecasting agencies said the storm has been undergoing rapid intensificationCyclone Biparjoy intensified by 40 knots 74 kmph since Tuesday morning according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre JTWC the US Department of Defenses agency responsible for issuing tropical cyclone warnings for the Pacific and Indian OceansScientists say cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea are intensifying rapidly and retaining their intensity for a longer duration due to climate changeAccording to a study Changing status of tropical cyclones over the north Indian Ocean the Arabian Sea saw a significant increasing trend in the intensity frequency and duration of cyclonic storms and very severe cyclonic storms during the 19822019 periodThe increase in cyclone activity in the Arabian Sea is tightly linked to the rising ocean temperatures and increased availability of moisture under global warming The Arabian Sea used to be cool but now it is a warm pooliquest said Roxy Mathew Koll Climate Scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and Lead IPCC AuthorThe IMD had on Tuesday said the cyclone is likely to influence the monsoon progressA senior IMD scientist said the southern peninsula will get rain under the influence of the cyclonic storm and a lowpressure system developing in the Bay of Bengal However further progress of the monsoon beyond the southern peninsula will happen after the cyclone degeneratesThe cloud mass is concentrated around this system and enough moisture is not reaching the Kerala coast Though the criteria for monsoon onset can be met in the next two days it will not be a thumping start Mahesh Palawat vice president climate and meteorology Skymet Weather saidAfter the onset over Kerala the monsoon will remain weak until the storm degenerates around June 12 he saidThe powerful weather system in the Arabian Sea may spoil the advancement of the monsoon deep inland Under their influence the monsoon stream may reach coastal parts but will struggle to penetrate beyond the Western Ghats Skymet Weather had said on TuesdayThe southwest monsoon normally sets in over Kerala on June 1 with a standard deviation of about seven days In midMay the IMD said monsoon might arrive in Kerala by June 4Skymet had predicted the monsoon onset over Kerala on June 7 with an error margin of three daysThe southeast monsoon arrived in the southern state on May 29 last year June 3 in 2021 June 1 in 2020 June 8 in 2019 and May 29 in 2018Scientists say a slightly delayed onset over Kerala does not mean that the monsoon will reach other parts of the country late It also does not impact the total rainfall over the country during the seasonIndia is expected to get normal rainfall during the southwest monsoon season despite the evolving El Nino conditions the IMD had earlier saidNorthwest India is expected to see normal to belownormal rainfall East and northeast central and south peninsula are expected to receive normal rainfall at 94106 per cent of the longperiod average of 87 centimetresRainfall less than 90 per cent of the longperiod average is considered deficient between 90 per cent and 95 per cent is below normal between 105 per cent and 110 per cent is above normal and more than 100 per cent is excess precipitationNormal rainfall is critical for Indias agricultural landscape with 52 per cent of the net cultivated area relying on it It is also crucial for the replenishing of reservoirs critical for drinking water apart from power generation across the countryRainfed agriculture accounts for about 40 per cent of the countrys total food production making it a crucial contributor to Indias food security and economic stabilityThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever