Cyclone ‘Nisarga’ to weaken in 6 hours: IMD

New Delhi: The landfall process of Cyclone ‘Nisarga’ will continue for another hour as the rear part of its cloud is still over the sea, the India Meteorological Department said on Wednesday afternoon.

The severe cyclonic storm will weaken down to a ‘cyclonic storm’ in six hours, said IMD in its 2.10 p.m. bulletin.

The weather bureau said that the landfall process had begun at 1 p.m. in Maharashtra’s Raigad district and will continue for another hour. The wind speed has also decreased to 90-100 kilometres per hour, gusting to 110.

The IMD said that the severe cyclonic storm crossed Maharashtra coast and currently was centered on Alibag in Raigad district, over 80 kilometres from Mumbai.

The weather bureau earlier sounded red alert for at least seven coastal districts of Maharashtra, while several districts along Gujarat’s coast are also expecting heavy rainfall.

Nisarga comes on the heels of Cyclone ‘Amphan’ which had killed close to 90 people when it hit eastern India and Bangladesh on May 20, flattening villages, destroying farms and leaving millions without electricity.