Video of Sandstorm in Egypt Shared as Cyclone Biparjoy in Gujarat And Karachi

This video shows an sandstorm that happened in Egypt and not Cyclone Biparjoy hitting Gujarat's coast.

Fact-check: An old video of a sandstorm from Egypt is being shared as a video showing Cyclone Biparjoy approaching Gujarat and Pakistan's Karachi.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video showing a huge storm approaching on the surface of the sea is going viral on social media with a claim that it shows Cyclone Biparjoy approaching the coasts of Gujarat and Pakistan's Karachi.

The claim was also viral in the Urdu language.

An archive can be seen here.

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, this video of sandstorm was recently recorded on 2 June around the Suez Canal, an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt.

Where is the video from?: We performed a reverse image search on some of the keyframes of the video and found out that the video is from Egypt.

• We came across a report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) from 2 June carrying the same viral video.

• The report stated that this video shows a sandstorm surrounding the Suez Canal, Egypt following which two ports were shut down.

• It mentioned that clouds of dust and sand hit the parts of Egypt.

• The article also stated that one person died and five people were injured on 1 June due to sandstorm sweeping through Cairo, Egypt.

The video is from Egypt.

(Source: BBC/Screenshot)

• The same video was also carried by Cable News Network (CNN).

About Cyclone Biparjoy: According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph can be expected.

• The cyclone is likely to cross Saurashtra and Kutch and adjoining Pakistan coasts between Mandvi, Gujarat and Karachi, Pakistan by the evening of 15 June.

• Due to this cyclone, North Gujarat region might also receive heavy to very heavy rainfall on Thursday.

Conclusion: An old video of a sandstorm from Egypt is being shared as a video showing Cyclone Biparjoy approaching Gujarat and Pakistan's Karachi.

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