Sadar Aslam
A waterspout was observed off the Balochistan coast near Sakoni, off Kalmat Khor by Mahar Gul, a fisherman on Feb 28. “Mahar Gul had also observed a similar phenomenon two decades ago near Jiwani, Balochistan.
Waterspouts are spiraling columns of water that can be sucked up by a tornado as it forms over the sea. Waterspouts do not only rise in seas and oceans, there are also freshwater waterspouts stories in large lakes and streams of other countries. Although excessive human activities in coastal areas has increased pollution and caused irreparable damage to sea life yet Pakistan is still not in the category of angry seas which wreak havoc in the form of tsunamis, volcanoes, whirlpools and hurricanes regardless of climatic changes. That waterspout was a fair weather waterspout as we can see from the picture clicked by Gul. That was the sign of upcoming torrential rainfalls and flood warning in Balochistan.
Waterspoutsare generally of two categories: fair weather and tornadic. The tornadic waterspouts may often begin as tornadoes over land and then move over water. They also form in severe thunderstorms over a body of water. They can wreak havoc with high winds, hail, and dangerous lightning while the Fair weather waterspouts develop in calmer weather. They form only over open water, developing at the surface and actually climbing skyward towards the clouds. The size of all waterspouts can range from just a few feet, to several hundred feet wide.
Waterspouts have long been recognized as serious marine hazards. Stronger waterspouts can be dangerous, posing threats to watercraft, aircraft, swimmers and marine animals. It is recommended to keep a considerable distance from these phenomena, and to always be on alert through weather reports.
Depending on how fast the winds from a waterspout are whipping, anything that is within about one yard of the surface of the water, including fish of different sizes, frogs, and even turtles, can be lifted into the air. A waterspout can sometimes suck small animals such as fish out of the water and all the way up into the cloud. Even if the waterspout stops spinning, the fish in the cloud can be carried over land, buffeted up and down and around with the clouds winds until its currents no longer keep the flying fish in the atmosphere. Depending on how far they travel and how high they are taken into the atmosphere, the fish are sometimes dead by the time they rain down. People as far as 100 miles inland have experienced raining fish. Fish can also be sucked up from rivers, but raining fish is not a common weather phenomenon.
There Meteorological department, PDMA, WWF, Marine and Naval departments should keep previous records about waterspouts and there should be special marine warnings when waterspouts are likely or have been sighted over coastal waters or tornado warnings when waterspouts are expected to move onshore.
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