Biporjoy: Saurashtra, Kutch highly vulnerable to cyclones

Subject: GEOGRAPHY

Section: Physical geography

Context:

Cyclone Biporjoy is set to batter Saurashtra and Kutch, regions that are already highly vulnerable to cyclones, according to the Gujarat State Action Plan on Climate Change.

Details:

Gujarat, with the longest coastline in India (1,663 km) and unique climatic conditions, is particularly at risk of cyclones.
The IMD has predicted that the very severe cyclonic storm Biporjoy will cross Saurashtra and Kutch and the adjoining Pakistan coast between Mandvi (Gujarat) and Karachi (Pakistan) near Jakhau Port in Gujarat.
Saurashtra districts were particularly affected during Cyclone Nilofar in 2014, Vayu and Maha in 2019 and Nisarga in 2020.
Cyclone Biporjoy is now the longest-lived cyclone (192 hrs as cyclone strength) in Arabian Sea history, breaking the record of the June 1998 cyclone according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Centres.

Increased frequency and number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea:

Between 1965 and 2022, 13 cyclones developed over the Arabian Sea in the month of June.
Rising sea surface temperatures due to global warming could be making cyclones in the Arabian Sea more frequent, intense and long-lasting.
Researchers have documented an 80 per cent increase in the total duration of cyclones in the Arabian Sea in the last four decades.
There is also a 52 per cent increase in the number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea and a 150 per cent rise in very severe cyclones.
According to the World Bank, 19 of the 26 districts in Gujarat are at risk of becoming climate change hotspots by 2050 as temperatures are expected to rise by 2-2.5°C.