Tropical cyclone Biparjoy in the Arabian Sea, which turned into Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) has further intensified during the last 12 hours, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said on Thursday.

As per the latest alert, the storm has slowly tracked further north and northwestward in the said duration and currently “lies near Latitude 14.0°N & Longitude 66.2°E at a distance of about 1200 kilometres south of Karachi”.

Sharing details of the cyclone, the Met department said that the maximum sustained surface winds are 120-140 km per hour and gusts of 160 km per hour around the centre of the system.

“Due to favorable environmental conditions (sea surface temperature of 30-32°C, low vertical wind shear & upper-level divergence), the system is likely to intensify further and keep moving in the northwest direction,” PMD stated.

The sea condition is very rough — “high and phenomenal” — around the system’s centre with the maximum wave height ranging from 25 to 28 feet.

However, none of the country’s coastal areas are under any threat, it added.

The Met department said that its cyclone warning centre in Karachi was closely monitoring the system and will keep issuing updates accordingly.