Bhubaneswar: Even as Odisha heaved a sigh of relief for getting spared from cyclone Asani, it has to brace for another threat with another cyclone called ‘Karim’ being spotted in Indian Ocean.
Cyclone Karim has emerged over the weekend in the Indian Ocean and has been placed under category II hurricane with a wind speed of 112 kmph gusting at nearly 140 kmph, according to a DNA report.
However, the exact level of threat and the areas that Cyclone Karim can damage have not yet been determined by the weather agencies.
While ‘Asani’ circles anti-clockwise, its twin ‘Karim’ is brewing clockwise south of the equator. Cyclone ‘Karim’ emerged over the southern Indian Ocean on May 8, according to The Weather Channel just as Asani began brewing over the Andaman Sea.
According to meteorologists, cyclone ‘Karim’, named by the South African country Seychelles, has the potential to affect a few states. Twin cyclones moving in opposite directions north and south of the equator are not new.
In 2019, when cyclone ‘Fani’ from Bay of Bengal caused havoc in Odisha, cyclone ‘Lorna’ took shape in the southern part of the Indian Ocean. Fani had a top speed of 250 kmph, while ‘Lorna’ accelerated to 70 kmph.
50 km west-southwest of Narsapur and 120 km west-southwest of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh). The system is very likely to move north-northeastwards along Yanam, Kakinada and Tuni coasts and weaken further into a depression by tomorrow morning.