Cyclones in India

Have you ever got keen to know what cyclones are and how they acquired names? The recent cyclone that made landfall in India was named Jawad, which Saudi Arabia gave. So, the question is, who decided on these names? Well, this blog covers the details of cyclones, their names and cyclones in India. Let's get started, learners!

What are cyclones?

Henry Piddington, a colonial officer who visited India in the 1830s, originated the term 'Cyclone' from the Greek word "Cyclos, " meaning "snake's coiling". A cyclone is defined as a weather condition in which wind rotates inwardly to a place of low pressure. Northern (anti-clockwise) and Southern (clockwise direction) hemispheres have different rotation patterns. Cyclones are the result of terrible weather, the warm temperature at the sea surface, pre-existing low-level disturbance, high humidity, and many other reasons.

There are two types of cyclones.

1. Tropical and
2. Extratropical (aka temperate or frontal)

The main difference between these two is that tropical cyclones' movement is directed from east to west, and extratropical, temperate, or frontal cyclones move from west to east.

Features of Tropical and extratropical cyclones

1. Tropical cyclones occur by rotating clouds and thunderstorms over tropical and sub-tropical places. Extratropical cyclones occur from temperature and high latitude regions within 30 to 60 degrees.
2. Tropical cyclones have very high wind velocity (speed) and heavy rainfall. Extratropical cyclones have cold fronts, occluded (blocked) fronts and warm fronts.
3. Tropical cyclones form only on seas (with temp. 26-27 degree Celsius). Extratropical cyclones form on both sea and land.

Cyclone Biparjoy

A cyclonic storm named Biparjoy has developed in the Arabian Sea. Bangladesh suggested the name, and the word means 'disaster' or 'calamity' in Bengali. Cyclones are named by countries on a rotational basis, following certain existing guidelines. This cyclonic storm is predicted to get very severe by 13 June. According to an Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) advisory, the cyclone would result in stormy weather with wind speeds reaching 35-45 kmph along the coastline of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra. Now, let's dig into how cyclones are named in detail.

How are cyclones named?

To prevent confusion, weather forecasters assign each tropical cyclone a name. Tropical cyclones are typically named in accordance with local norms.

Tropical cyclones are given names in the Atlantic and the Southern Hemisphere (Indian Ocean and South Pacific) in alphabetical order, alternating between female and male names. In 2000, nations in the Northern Indian Ocean adopted a new naming scheme for tropical cyclones; the names are listed alphabetically by country and are gender-neutral.

It is customary for the name list to be recommended by the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) of WMO Members in a particular region and approved by the appropriate tropical cyclone regional organisations at their annual/biannual sessions.

So basically, in September 2004, 8 countries decided to choose eight names each, which would provide 64 names. You can find the names of cyclones which were previously decided in the image below.

So, according to the above list, the last name is Amphan, which affected eastern India. Well, this list got exhausted in 2019, and another list was prepared in which 13 countries decided to list out 13 names each, providing us with 169 names.

The whole list of names that 13 countries provided are mentioned in the image below.

There are five regional organisations that each monitor and forecast tropical cyclones over their area. An identification name is chosen from a list by the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC), Tropical Cyclones, New Delhi, for a tropical cyclone that originated over the Indian Ocean.

The World Meteorological Organization/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (WMO/ESCAP) panel countries adopted the most recent list of tropical cyclone names in April 2020 for naming tropical cyclones over the north Indian Ocean, including the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.

Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen are the 13 countries represented on the panel. Each of them has provided a list of 13 names.

Since 2020, the names Nisarga, Gati, Nivar, Burevi, Tauktae, Yaas, Gulab, Shaheen, Jawad, and Asani that the member nations proposed in alphabetical order have been utilised for the first set of lists. The next two tropical cyclones will be named "Mandous" and "Mocha," which were recommended by the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, respectively, in the initial batch of names.

Following the first set of names, the cyclones will receive names from the final 12 sets. Cyclone Amphan occurred in 2020. However, the name was picked from a list that was put forth in September 2004. 63 of the 64 names on the previous list could be used through December 2019; the remaining name was used to name the first cyclone in 2020.

The name of a tropical cyclone originates in the South China Sea, travels through Thailand, and lands in the Bay of Bengal. It will remain the same, according to sources in the Indian Meteorological Department. Similarly, we won't list the names of tropical cyclones here.

Though only female names were given to storms in the middle of the twentieth century and later, male names for those in the southern hemisphere before the end of the century, the names given to storms today are neutral, chosen so as not to offend any group of people, and will have a maximum of eight letters.

List of cyclones in India (1970- 2022)