The gigantic cyclone that slammed into western India will have no effect on the United Arab Emirates, the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has said.

Cyclone Tauktae has weakened into a "tropical storm shortly after landfall over the northwest Indian coast", the NCM said in a video post on Tuesday. It is expected to weaken further into a tropical depression, the authority added.

The National Centre of Meteorology is "closely monitoring the situation on the hour" and will offer all relevant updates, it added. The authority urged residents to avoid spreading rumours about the cyclone and its effect on the UAE.

Dubai's Emirates airline had cancelled flights to India's Mumbai due to the cyclonic storm on May 16, 17 and 18. At least 21 people were dead and 96 missing on Tuesday – a day after the cyclone hammered the Gujarat coast.

According to agency reports, the cyclone packed gusts of up to 185kmph, uprooting trees and knocking down power lines and mobile phone towers. Mumbai received 230mm rainfall due to the cyclonic storm, with a weather expert claiming it to be the highest 24-hour downpour in May in recorded history.

Mumbai authorities on Monday closed the airport for several hours and urged people to stay indoors as huge waves battered the city's seafront.

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