Weather tracker: India and Pakistan keep close eye on tropical cyclone
During the latter stages of last week, a tropical cyclonic circulation over the Arabian Sea intensified rapidly and was named Tropical Cyclone Biparjoy by Friday. The storm maintained a category 1 status through the weekend, with estimated mean wind speeds of 80mph (129kph) to 90mph.
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-What are the wind speeds expected during the cyclone?
Despite only marginal atmospheric conditions to support its further development, Biparjoy continued to deepen towards category 2 status as it edged northwards on Sunday, bringing very high waves of more than 30ft (9 metres) to 40ft. Although Biparjoy is predicted to weaken through the coming week, it could make landfall between Gujarat in west India, and south-east Pakistan by midweek, and is likely to generate torrential rain, high waves and strong winds Authorities in the region are keeping a close eye on this storm, with a view to emergency evacuations or safety warnings should the system make landfall.
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-Where exactly is the cyclone expected to make landfall?
Cold conditions have affected much of Argentina in recent days, as a blast of southerly winds continues to push northwards. Over the weekend, this cold air reached Paraguay, Bolivia and southern portions of Brazil, behind a strong cold front that has delivered some much-needed rain. However, during the course of this week, the cold air is expected to penetrate even further north into Brazil, with temperatures 10C (50F) to 15C below normal for June. Night-time temperatures below 10C are unusual for this region, which is extremely important for crop-growing, and there is a risk of frost in some areas.
The very warm, humid weather experienced across the UK over the weekend is extending across much of north-west Europe, including Scandinavia. After recent cold weather in northern areas, temperatures will be at least 10C above the seasonal norm across parts Norway, Sweden and Finland in the coming week, peaking above 30C across some southern areas on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. After a brief cooldown in recent days, temperatures across Spain and Portugal are also likely to rise again, and could reach 40C across some interior parts of southern Spain before the weekend.