Sultan Al Neyadi captures Cyclone Biparjoy from space as it grows in strength

Footage from International Space Station shows powerful storm moving over Arabian Sea

The eye of Cyclone Biparjoy in footage taken by Sultan Al Neyadi from the International Space Station. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi / Twitter

The UAE is not expected to be affected by the cyclone. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi / Twitter

Cyclone Biparjoy seen over the Arabian Sea, as it approaches India and Pakistan. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi / Twitter

A tethered goat watches waves crash on to the shore in Mumbai on Tuesday, as the cyclone gathers pace. AP

Waves hit the Arabian Sea coast in Mumbai. AP

Astronauts often monitor weather phenomenon from the ISS. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi / Twitter

The cyclone will make landfall in parts of India and Pakistan this week. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi / Twitter

Cyclone Biparjoy seen from space. Photo: Sultan Al Neyadi / Twitter

Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi has urged people due to be affected by Cyclone Biparjoy to "stay safe" after he photographed the powerful weather front from the International Space Station (ISS).

The storm is growing in strength as it closes in on India and Pakistan, where it is expected to make landfall on Thursday.

The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) on Monday said the Emirates would be unaffected by the cyclone, which formed in the Arabian Sea.

Cyclone Biparjoy, named by Bangladesh and meaning "destruction", is scheduled to arrive in the Indian state of Gujarat on Thursday, with authorities in India and Pakistan now evacuating low-lying areas.

"Watch as a tropical cyclone forms over the Arabian Sea from these views I captured," Dr Al Neyadi tweeted on Tuesday.

"The ISS provides a unique perspective on several natural phenomena, which can assist experts on Earth in weather monitoring. Stay safe, everyone!"

On Tuesday, the NCM said the cyclone was centred in the eastern Arabian sea, with wind speeds of up to 155kph.

Astronauts in space are often asked to take footage of weather phenomenon, so meteorologists on ground can better track them.

In 2021, ISS astronauts posted photos of a volcano eruption on La Palma, one of the Spanish Canary Islands.

The Cumbre Vieja volcano erupted on September 19 that year and its red-hot lava reached the Atlantic Ocean.

The astronauts also monitored wildfires burning across California and Nevada in the western US in 2021.

The so-called Caldor fire had been active for about 10 weeks and reached Lake Tahoe, destroying some of the world’s oldest trees in the process.

30 striking images of natural disasters from space - in pictures

1. An enormous plume of ash rises from the Cleveland Volcano on May 23, 2006. The image was captured from the International Space Station by astronaut Jeff Williams. The ash cloud rose as high as 6,000 metres above sea level. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

2. The Raikoke Volcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula erupts on June 22, 2019. The last time it exploded was in 1924. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

3. Another image of the Raikoke eruption was captured on the same morning by the Suomi NPP satellite. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

4. One of the deadliest earthquakes struck Haiti in 2010. This GeoEye-1 satellite image shows rubble on the streets of Port-au-Prince on January 13. About 250,000 people were killed in the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

5. A huge sandstorm rolls across the Sahara Desert on August 1, 2018. Astronaut Ricky Arnold captured this image from the ISS. Photo: Ricky Arnold Twitter

6. Satellite images show an active volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma on September 26, 2021. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

7. The La Palma volcanic eruption has destroyed hundreds of homes. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

8. Astronauts on the space station captured images of auroras australis, or southern lights, while flying over the Indian Ocean. Light created by the wildfires in Australia can also be seen. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

9. This Terra satellite image shows how green (represented in red in this photo) the island of Leyte was before the deadly super typhoon Haiyan hit Philippines in 2013. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

10. Much of the vegetation and properties on the island was destroyed after the typhoon struck with winds of near 315 kilometres per hour. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

11. A view of super typhoon Haiyan from space taken by Nasa’s Aqua satellite. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

12. The European Space Agency’s Sentinel-2 satellite captured an image of the fires in southern California on December 5, 2017. This photo shows the largest of the blazes in Ventura County, which destroyed more than 65,000 acres. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

13. The highest volcano in the Galapagos Islands erupted for the first time in 33 years in 2015. An image captured by the Terra satellite shows volcanic ash and gases about 15 km high. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

14. An image of the Hurricane Dorian taken by US astronaut Christina Koch in 2019. The natural disaster struck the Bahamas and killed more than 70 people. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

15. Astronaut Christina Koch shared an image of smoke pluming over the Australian continent. The 2019-2020 bushfires destroyed thousands of homes and killed more than 30 people. Photo: Christina Koch Twitter

16. Satellite images show a dust storm sweeping over the Middle East in 2015. The storm hit Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus and Palestine, causing many cancelled flights and the closure of seaports. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

17. A shield volcano erupts on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula on March 22, 2021. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

18. Astronaut Luca Parmitano shared an image of the wildfires in Australia on January 13, 2020. Photo: European Space Agency

19. A 2007 view of Japan’s Tohoku region before one of the world’s deadliest earthquake destroyed most of the area in 2011. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

20. The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis killed nearly 230,000 people. A satellite image shows the Indonesian town of Lhoknga destroyed by the natural disaster on December 26. All properties were destroyed, except for a white mosque that is visible in the image. Photo: Nasa

21. The tsunamis, caused by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, also struck Sri Lanka. Photo: Nasa

22. A satellite image taken after a 9.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Tohoku region in Japan, with tsunami waves destroying most of the coastal area. About five to 10 metre waves flooded into the town. The photo shows flooding, a destroyed seawall and debris. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

23. The Raikoke Volcano eruption seen from space on June 22, 2019. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

24. A Suomi NPP satellite image shows smoke over Russia, as wildfires burned across 11 regions of the country in July 2019. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

25. Satellite image of forest fires in Northern California captured in August 2008. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

26. The Fagradalsfjall volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted on May 9, 2021. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

27. The 2011 tsunami in Japan was so intense, it caused calving of large icebergs from the Sulzberger Ice Shelf on the Antarctic coast, as shown in this image captured by European Space Agency’s Envisat satellite. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

28. Satellite image shows a powerful tornado (brown horizontal line in the middle of image) sweeping across Massachusetts on June 2011. It wreaked havoc for 63 kilometres, killing three people and destroying property. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

29. A satellite image of the Hurricane Katrina over the US in 2005. It struck the state of Louisiana, killing 1,833 people and destroying thousands of homes. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

30. The Caldor fire reached Lake Tahoe on the California and Nevada border on September 15, 2021, as seen in this Landsat 8 satellite image. The fire had been burning for 10 weeks. Photo: Nasa Earth Observatory

In 2006, astronaut Jeff Williams spotted ash emerging from the Cleveland Volcano in Alaska and reported the activity to the US state's volcanic observatory.

He captured images of an ash cloud rising 6,000 metres above sea level.