Monsoon Blues: Neoguri Strikes Hard
Monsoon Blues: Neoguri Strikes Hard
Just when one heaved a sigh of relief that the southwest monsoon had rescued itself from the 15 day long hold-up over Western and Central India, Neoguri has wreaked new havoc on the Indian monsoon and agriculture. The system has failed to advance even after the low-pressure area forming in the Northwest Bay of Bengal 3 days ago had raised hopes for rain in West and Northwest India.
Raging typhoon Neoguri has stopped the Indian monsoon in its tracks. The typhoon has formed in the Northwest Pacific. Neoguri which means “raccoon” in Korean is eating away at the Indian monsoon as if it were a rich hoard of nuts. A prominent weather feature in the larger Asian monsoon system, Neoguri is pulling away monsoon flows across the West Coast in India as well as the southern peninsula and adjoining South Bay into the Pacific.
Neoguri is also fast ramping into the class-topping Category-5 storm in the Saffir Simpson scale for storm intensity. This features very strong winds reaching insanely high speeds of as much as 250 km/hr.
The storm has reached Category-4 strength which is a very severe cyclone and it is now poised to attain super cyclone status soon. Neoguri is slated to skirt the Southeast China coast and head straight towards South of Fukoka in southern Japan as per the typhoon trackers.
The dangerous North Pacific typhoon has caused us losses without directly striking us by averting the healthy flow of the monsoon. Meanwhile, the Indian Met Department has indicated the weakening of the monsoon driving low over East Uttar Pradesh and will become less marked over the next 24 hours.
Moisutre feed and extension supportive wind speeds along the trough that link the Bay with Punjab is also weakening because of the pull power of the Neoguri typhoon. Satellite pictures also indicate that thunderclouds are drifting along the West Coast, A wide corridor along the interior peninsula and Central India into West Uttar Pradesh is where the thunderclouds are now headed, according to the experts.
The typhoon is currently blowing with sustained winds of 185 kms/115 miles per hour and gusts of 220 kph/136 mph 522 miles off Cagayan and is soon expected to reach the Batanes provicine in Philippines before blowing towards souther Japan.
One man's curse is another man's blessing sometimes, but when it comes to typhoons like these, everyone suffers. Officials in Philippines are saying Neoguri may enhance the southwest monsoon there and bring heavy rains. This will lead to possible landslides and flood-prone areas should now start monitoring weather reports. Neoguri is the sixth storm to hit the Philippines this year and it is the first in the rainy season which commenced last month.
With Neoguri on the move, one can only hope that there is some respite from the typhoon soon. Catastrophic damage caused by typhoons such as these knows no boundaries.
