Gandhinagar: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Ahmedabad has declared that the cyclonic storm ‘Tej’ in the Arabian Sea will not impact Gujarat. However, due to squally winds and rough to very rough sea conditions in the Southwest and West Central Arabian Sea, all the ports along the North and South Gujarat coast are currently hoisting Signal Distant Warning II (DW II).

Manorama Mohanty, the director of the Meteorological Centre in Ahmedabad, stated, “It is expected to turn into a severe cyclonic storm by the evening of October 22 and move towards the south Oman and Yemen coast.” She further noted that as the cyclone is projected to move west-northwest, it is unlikely to impact Gujarat, which is situated to the east. Consequently, Gujarat’s weather is anticipated to remain dry for the next seven days.

According to the latest bulletin from the IMD, “The deep depression over the southwest Arabian Sea has intensified into a cyclonic storm named ‘Tej.’ It is centered approximately 670 km east-southeast of Socotra (Yemen), 980 km south-southeast of Salalah (Oman), and 1050 km east-southeast of Al Ghaidah (Yemen). It is expected to further intensify into a severe cyclonic storm within the next 12 hours and subsequently develop into a very severe cyclonic storm within the following 24 hours.

The storm is likely to make landfall between Al Ghaidah (Yemen) and Salalah (Oman) on October 25.

While cyclones can alter their paths, Alok Kumar Pandey, the state’s relief commissioner, confirmed that there is currently no threat from the storm as it is not heading towards Gujarat. It’s worth mentioning that in June, Cyclone Biparjoy, originating in the Arabian Sea, caused significant damage in Kutch and parts of Saurashtra in Gujarat, despite initially heading westward before changing direction and making landfall in Kutch. DeshGujarat