Cyclone Nisarga advances in the Arabian Sea, powerful winds and rainfalls are expected to lash the coastal areas

 Cyclone Nisarga advances in the Arabian Sea, powerful winds and rainfalls are expected to lash the coastal areas 

 A red alert has been announced by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for coastal Maharashtra and Gujarat for 4 June due to the cyclonic storm Nisarga in the Arabian Sea.

The weather department has predicted that "low pressure" formed over the Arabian Sea would move towards Maharashtra and Gujarat and will cause rainfall over both the states.

The IMD has also declared an orange alert for Kerala, coastal Karnataka, Goa and coastal Maharashtra for today.

The same warning has been declared for coastal Maharashtra and Goa on 2 June.

IMD's Cyclone E-Atlas, which has been tracking cyclones and weather depressions over the north Indian Ocean, said no weather system has transformed into a cyclone and made landfall near Mumbai along the Maharashtra coast during June since 1891.

More powerful than usual winds and rainfalls are expected to lash the coast of Maharashtra on the evening of 2 June and in the first half of 3 June, Hindustan Times, citing Akshay Deoaras, an independent meteorologist and Ph.D. researcher at the University of Reading, UK, reported.

IMD declared warning of massive rainfall and harsh sea conditions for fishermen and coastal authorities in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Maharashtra may face a wind speed of 90 to 100 kmph on 3 June. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has halted all fishing activities off the coast as wind speed reaching 45 - 55 kmph and gusting at 65 kmph is expected to prevail along the coast of Kerala and over Lakswadeep as well. The KSDMA has also sounded a yellow alert in nine districts on Monday, alerting them to expect heavy rain.

Take a look: #Cyclone '#Nisarga' Path Forecast#CycloneNisarga #CyclonicStorm#CycloneUpdate #CycloneAlert pic.twitter.com/0fmjaVbwGL

— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) June 2, 2020

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has requested fishermen to avoid venturing into the sea for the next two to three days as a cyclone is assumed to hit the Arabian Sea.

The IMD said a low-pressure area intensified into a depression on Monday morning. It will strengthen into a Cyclonic Storm and cross north Maharastra and south Gujarat coast during the evening or night of 3 June. It will cross the coast on the evening of 3 June with a speed of 105 to 110 kmph.

The name Nisarga was recommended by Bangladesh and will be the first to be applied from the new list of names for North Indian Ocean Cyclones that was issued in 2020. Amphan was the last name from the old list that was published in 2004.