As Gujarat braces for Cyclone Biparjoy's landfall today, an astronaut at the International Space Station shared some breathtaking pictures of the very severe cyclonic storm from space.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi took to his Twitter account to post a few pictures of Cyclone Biparjoy over the Arabian Sea.
"As promised in my previous video here are some pictures of the cyclone #Biparjoy forming in the Arabian Sea that I clicked over two days from the International Space Station," Al Neyadi wrote.
Two days ago, Al Neyadi shared a video showing the gigantic storm formation over the Arabian Sea as it headed towards the Indian coast.
"Watch as a tropical cyclone forms over the Arabian Sea from these views I captured. The ISS provides a unique perspective on several natural phenomena, which can assist experts on Earth in weather monitoring. Stay safe, everyone!" he tweeted.
Over 74,000 people have been evacuated from coastal areas to safer shelters. The storm is expected to make landfall in Kutch this evening, and orange and yellow alerts have been issued in several districts of the state.
Cyclone Biparjoy, currently about 200 km off the coast of Gujarat, will make landfall between Mandvi and Karachi near Jakhau Port between 4-8 PM, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). The storm is likely to bring heavy rain and strong winds to the Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat, as well as the adjoining Pakistan coast.
Classified as a "very severe cyclonic storm" of category 3, Cyclone Biparjoy is likely to bring winds of up to 120-130 km per hour, the IMD said.
