Al Ain: The tropical cyclone Phet will have minimal effect on the UAE weather as it is expected to move slowly towards Pakistan and India, according to a weather alert issued by the national weather bureau.
Phet is currently located in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman. It has intensified quickly in the last 24 hours.
The National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) said the satellite imagery shows Phet is on the northwest Arabian Sea and its eye is about 360km away from the coast of Oman.
"It has currently been moving to the north-west direction at a speed of 12km/h towards the eastern coast of the Sultanate of Oman," said the centre, hoping that it would later change its direction towards the north-east.
Foreign weather forecasters also predict the cyclone will continue to strengthen before hitting Indian and Pakistani coastlines by the end of the week. The areas considered to be under threat are Pakistan's Balochistan and Sindh provinces, including the city of Karachi, and the Indian state of Gujarat.
The NCMS said the cyclone is expected to send medium to high clouds in the eastern region of the country. Wind speed is likely to increase by up to 40 knots and above in the eastern and northern parts of the UAE. The winds may kick up dust and sand in some areas causing visibility problems.
The centre has issued a warning asking people to stay away from the sea off the country's east coast.
"We expect eight feet high waves on the east coast from Thursday night that could reach to 11 to 13 feet in height," said the NCMS official.
He said the sea is expected to be rough from Thursday evening to Saturday evening. The NCMS is monitoring the cyclone and necessary alerts would be issued to keep the people informed, said the official.
