KARACHI — The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned that Cyclone Shakti, formed over the northeast Arabian Sea, is moving closer to Pakistan’s southern coastline and was located about 360 kilometres south of Karachi on Friday evening.
The weather system, which began as a deep depression, intensified into a cyclonic storm by Friday evening and is expected to strengthen further into a severe cyclonic storm within 24 hours, according to the PMD. The cyclone was centered at Latitude 21.7N and Longitude 66.8E, and is forecast to move west-northwestwards initially before turning west-southwestwards into the central Arabian Sea.
Under its influence, light to moderate rain and thunderstorms are expected across parts of Sindh and Balochistan, including Tharparkar, Umerkot, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad, Matiari, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar, Jamshoro, Hub, Lasbela, Awaran, and Kech, with isolated showers likely in Karachi.
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For Karachi, the three-day forecast indicates cloudy and humid weather with occasional drizzle or light rain. Daytime temperatures are expected to remain between 32–34°C on Saturday and slightly lower at 31–33°C on Sunday, while minimum temperatures will hover between 26–28°C.
The sea conditions are expected to remain rough to very rough near the Sindh coast from October 3 to 5, with squally winds blowing at 40–50 km/h, gusting up to 55 km/h. Near the cyclone’s center, gale-force winds of 65–75 km/h, gusting up to 85 km/h, are expected until Saturday evening, possibly strengthening further to 100–110 km/h with gusts as high as 125 km/h.
The PMD has issued a warning for fishermen to avoid venturing into open seas until October 5, as conditions are extremely dangerous. Authorities have also cautioned that strong winds, lightning, and heavy rain may damage weak structures, rooftops, billboards, electric poles, vehicles, and solar panels.
Sea conditions over the central north Arabian Sea are forecast to remain very severe between October 3 and 6, as Cyclone Shakti continues to develop.