Latest: Emirates cancels Mumbai flights after Tauktae cyclone makes landfall
Tropical cyclones will form quicker and become more frequent in the Arabian Sea because of climate change, an expert said as India braces for cyclone Tauktae.
Authorities in north-western India, where heavy rains have fallen, moved tens of thousands of people out of low-lying areas in preparation for Tauktae, which is packing winds of more than 200 kilometres an hour.
The full force of the storm is likely to be felt in the state of Gujarat after at least a dozen people were killed when Tauktae skirted the coast farther south, damaging scores of houses.
The warming has provided that energy for the cyclones to form, which is why we're seeing much more activity in the western coast of India
Its development in the Arabian Sea highlighted an increasing rate of cyclone formation in the area, a trend that could cause more death and destruction in years to come.
Dr Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, said the Arabian Sea was experiencing some of the fastest warming of all tropical basins, areas where cyclones form.
"Cyclones draw their energy from the ocean," he told The National.
“The warming has provided that energy for the cyclones to form, which is why we’re seeing much more activity in the western coast of India.
“It’s not just cyclones, but rainfall. Extreme rainfall, of 150 millimetres a day, is increasing in the western coast because of the growing activity and convection in the Arabian Sea.”
Reports suggested that Tauktae, classified as an extremely severe storm by the Indian Meteorological Department, could be the worst tropical cyclone to hit Gujarat in more than 20 years.
Gusts of 210kph from Tauktae have been recorded, forcing roads and the airport in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra state, just south of Gujarat, to close.
In Gujarat, about 150,000 people have been moved from coastal areas as a precaution against extreme winds, rainfall and flooding.
The Bay of Bengal, on the eastern side of India, has long been a hotbed of tropical cyclone formation, and one, two or even three typically develop there each year.
But in recent decades the Arabian Sea, which used to be 1°C to 2°C cooler, has warmed up faster and, as a result, pre-monsoon cyclones have formed there for four years in a row.
Dr Koll said there were many reasons relating to circulation of the air and the oceans to account for faster warming.
The Indian Ocean, of which the Arabian Sea is part, is “much more landlocked” than other basins, which contributes to warming.
"The Indian Ocean is landlocked to the north," Dr Koll said. "That's why the heat doesn't get pushed out.
“These tropical climate projections, they’re showing the Indian Ocean will continue to warm in the Arabian Sea [area] … There’s a study showing extremely severe cyclones will increase in the Arabian Sea.
"We haven’t seen that much of an increase in the Bay of Bengal until now.”
As well as causing more cyclones to form, the warming of oceans is making them intensify faster, Dr Koll said, making it harder for forecasters to give early evacuation warnings.
Now, winds may intensify from between 100kph to 120kph to as fast as 220kph in less than 24 hours.
It is unclear, however, whether the trend means that the Arabian peninsula will suffer more from tropical cyclones, Dr Koll said.
The strongest recorded tropical cyclone to hit the Arabian peninsula was Gonu, which in 2007 caused dozens of deaths and billions of dollars of damage in Oman.
“Although we see more storms and cyclones in the Arabian Sea, we don’t have a clear understanding of the track they’re going to take,” Dr Koll said.
“That’s why we should probably focus on improving these models to see how the track might change in the future. We don’t yet have the data to say that this part of the Arabian Sea is going to [experience] more storms and cyclones.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'Midnights'
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Honeymoonish
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Players Selected for La Liga Trials
U18 Age Group
Name: Ahmed Salam (Malaga)
Position: Right Wing
Nationality: Jordanian
Name: Yahia Iraqi (Malaga)
Position: Left Wing
Nationality: Morocco
Name: Mohammed Bouherrafa (Almeria)
Position: Centre-Midfield
Nationality: French
Name: Mohammed Rajeh (Cadiz)
Position: Striker
Nationality: Jordanian
U16 Age Group
Name: Mehdi Elkhamlichi (Malaga)
Position: Lead Striker
Nationality: Morocco
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
Avatar%20(2009)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
More coverage from the Future Forum
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULT
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Bayern Munich 4
Leverkusen: Alario (9'), Wirtz (89')
Bayern: Coman (27'), Goretzka (42'), Gnabry (45'), Lewandowski (66')
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
