Parts of Karachi experience stormy winds under Cyclone Hikaa influence

KARACHI: Various areas of Karachi on Monday experienced stormy winds and cloudy weather under the influence of Arabian Sea Cyclone Hikaa, ARY News reported.

Clouds witnessed hovering over the city’s Surjani Town, North Karachi and other areas. The Met Office has forecast light rainfall and wind storm in the port city on Wednesday.

Chief Meteorologist of Pakistan Meteorological Department has said that the low pressure in the Arabian Sea near Karachi has changed into a cyclonic storm.

A moderate heat wave condition is likely to continue till tomorrow in Karachi and other parts of southern Sindh. Maximum temperature in Karachi is likely to range between 37 – 39ºC during next two days.

Hot and humid weather is expected in most parts of the country. However, rains/wind-thunderstorm is expected at Mirpur Khas, Hyderabad division in Sindh and Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Hazara divisions, Islamabad and Kashmir.

Cyclone Hikaa

According to earlier weather reports, a Deep Depression in the eastcentral and adjoining northeast Arabian Sea has finally changed into a cyclone on Monday morning.

Yesterday, the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center of the Met Department had informed that the low pressure Area over eastcentral and adjoining Northeast Arabian Sea has intensified into a Depression and lay centred around Latitude 19.8°N and longitude 69.4°E, about 610 km Southeast of Karachi.

The met office had predicted that the cyclone will move westward to Oman coast and none of Pakistan coastal area was under any threat from this cyclonic system.

The weather department had advised the fishermen of Sindh not to venture into deep sea during the next few days.

This Cyclone has been named Hikaa by the Maldives.

According to morning weather reports, Cyclone Hikaa was 500 km from Pakistan’s coast and 400 km away from Gujarat coast of India. The cyclone was moving west-northwestward at a speed of 10 kilometers per hour (kmph) packing wind speed of 90 kmph.

Hikka is likely to hit in the next 48 hours to the Oman coast, south of Masirah, close to Duqm, which is a port and a refinery.