KARACHI: The Pakistan Meteorological Department’s (PMD) Cyclone Warning Center has reported that the severe cyclonic storm ‘Shakhti’ over the northwest Arabian Sea has shifted away from Karachi and is now centred about 700 kilometres southwest of the city.
According to the latest alert, the storm has been moving west-southwest over the past six hours and is currently positioned near Latitude 21.0N and Longitude 61.8E, roughly 250 kilometres from Oman’s coast.
The system is expected to continue moving west-southwest until October 6 before curving eastward over the west-central and northeast Arabian Sea within the following 24 hours, where it is likely to weaken into a deep depression.
Under its influence, light rain may occur in isolated coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan today.
The sea is expected to remain rough to very rough, with squally winds blowing at speeds of 40 to 50 km/h, gusting up to 55 km/h along the Sindh coast. Fishermen have been warned to avoid deep-sea ventures until October 5.
Around the storm’s centre, gale-force winds are reaching 110 to 120 km/h, with gusts up to 135 km/h, expected to drop to 80 to 90 km/h later in the day and gradually weaken further to 50 to 60 km/h over the next 36 hours. Sea conditions are forecast to remain very rough to high through October 7.
The PMD’s Cyclone Warning Center in Karachi continues to closely monitor the situation.