KARACHI: Cyclone Biparjoy has turned into an “extremely severe cyclonic storm” and is very likely to cross over the area between Pakistan’s Keti Bandar and Indian Guj­arat on June 15, the Pakistan Meteorological Depar­t­ment (PMD) stated on Sunday.

The system is located at a distance of 690km south of Karachi, 670km south of Thatta and 720km southeast of Ormara, according to PMD’s advisory released on Sunday at 9.45pm.

In a related guideline, Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority’s airside department has alerted the relevant officials to ensure safety of lightweight aircraft and other electrical equipment by taking precautionary measures such as mooring of parked light aircraft or re-parking to a safer place.

Also, due to the risk of collision, goods near the runways and tarmac area in Karachi should be moved to a safer place, it has advised.

The National Disaster Mana­ge­ment Authority (NDMA), in coordination with PMD, provincial disaster management authorities (PDMAs) of Sindh and Balochistan, Pakis­tan Navy, Pakistan Maritime Security Authority, Pakistan Coast Guards, has been issuing advisories and guidelines to all stakeholders at national and provincial levels to undertake proactive preparedness and mitigation measures.

“#Biparjoy Cyclone is unpredictable yet categorised as high intensity. Panic is counterproductive but caution and planning are better than being caught unawares,” tweeted Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Sherry Rehman, advising all relevant departments of Sindh and Balochistan to be on ‘high alert’.

“The cyclone over the east-central Arabian Sea has maintained its intensity over the past 48 hours and tracked northward. In fact, every 12 hours, wind’s intensity around the system’s centre is increasing by [a speed of] 30km to 40km an hour due to favourable environmental conditions,” chief meteorologist Dr Sardar Sarfaraz said.

Currently, he said, the area of about 250km located between Keti Bunder and the Indian Gujarat was ‘most vulnerable’, though the adjoining areas would also experience the system’s influence.

“The cyclone is very likely to reduce its intensity, turning into a very severe cyclonic storm from an extremely severe storm as is the situation right now, between June 13 and June 14 as it would get close to land. During this time, it’s expected to change its direction, too, and track northeastward. High winds are likely to start blowing from the night of June 13 onwards,” the top weatherman pointed out.

The ‘slight’ loss in cyclone’s intensity would happen due to unfavourable conditions such as sea surface water getting cooler and wind shear getting strong, he explained.