Cyclone Biparjoy turning furious, halts monsoon progress

New Delhi: Cyclone 'Biparjoy', the first storm brewing in the Arabian Sea this year, rapidly intensified into a severe cyclonic storm with meteorologists predicting a "mild" monsoon onset over Kerala and "weak" progress beyond southern peninsula under its influence. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday morning said conditions are favourable for monsoon onset over Kerala within two days. Meteorologists, however, said the cyclone has been impacting the intensity of the monsoon and the onset over Kerala would be "mild".

The Met office said the severe cyclonic storm is likely to move nearly northwards and intensify into a very severe cyclonic storm. It would then move north-northwestwards during the subsequent three days. However, the IMD has not yet predicted any major impact on countries adjoining the Arabian Sea, including India, Oman, Iran and Pakistan.

Meteorologists say the tentative track of the system will be in the northward direction but storms at times defy the predicted track and the intensity. Forecasting agencies said the storm has been undergoing "rapid intensification", escalating from just a cyclonic circulation to a severe cyclonic storm in just 48 hours, defying earlier predictions. Atmospheric conditions and cloud mass indicate that the system is likely to sustain the strength of a very severe cyclone till June 12. Scientists say cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea have been intensifying rapidly and retaining their intensity for a longer duration due to climate change.