Water Twister spotted within Pakistan's sea border in Arabian sea

KARACHI: A water twister has been traced in the Arabian Sea within water borders of Pakistan, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The water twister or whirlwind which is termed as a natural phenomenon was recorded in the ocean at the distance of 57 nautical miles from Ghorabari beach in Sindh.

Sources relayed that Saeed Zaman, a WWF Pakistan trained video-maker, recorded the twister in Pakistani waters. “It is the second twister recorded at the surface of the sea within water limits of Pakistan. The first water twister was recorded on Feb. 28, 2016.”

A water twister is also called steam devil or a small weak whirlwind that draws fog into its vortex, thus rendering it visible.

It is formed over large lakes and oceans during cold air outbreaks where the water is still relatively warm and can be an important mechanism in vertically transporting moisture. They are a component of sea smoke.

According to scientists, smaller steam whirls can form over geyser basins even in warm weather because of the very high water temperatures, according to scientists.

Researchers say water whirls are weaker than waterspouts and distinct from them. “The latter are more akin to weak tornadoes over water.”

A whirlwind is a weather phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to turbulence created by heating and flow (current) gradients.