This is an amazing, rare and possibly devastating event. Thanks in part to the warm surface temperatures (NOAA Coral Reef Watch anomaly data) in the northwestern Indian Ocean, Cyclone / Tropical Storm Gonu veered north into Oman and is moving into Iran.
As Jeff Masters' wunderblog explains, it may be entirely without precedent in the observed record. And, sadly, that means the region is underprepared. The only predictable part of this: the news coverage seems to be more concerned about the impact on oil infrastructure and oil prices than the impact on the people living there.
Hopefully, not too many commentators will be tempted to scream "aha - it must be global warming" and, if anything, stick to some reasonably informed winking.
Check out the difference between the CNN coverage and the BBC coverage.
ReplyDeletePeople here seem to think it happens quite often, but not at this scale. The biggies come around every 30 years or so.
ReplyDeleteRare indeed. The latest reports claim at least 35 people were killed, mostly in Muscat, the capital in Oman. Good thing the storm weakened the day before hitting the coast.
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