Whenever a cyclone comes, there is a curiosity about its name. This question arises in the minds of people that why and how the storm is named. These days there is a danger of ‘Asani’ cyclone in the coastal areas of Odisha. It is named by Sri Lanka, which means anger. Let us tell you that this cyclone formed in the Bay of Bengal on Sunday morning and is moving towards the east coast.
Why are cyclones given names?
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), an agency under the United Nations, there can be more than one cyclone at a time in a particular geographic location or across the globe and the systems can last for a week or more. Therefore, each tropical storm is given a name to avoid confusion, facilitate disaster risk awareness, management and mitigation.
What are the things to be kept in mind before naming a cyclone?
Short and easy-to-pronounce names are helpful in disseminating detailed storm information rapidly and effectively among hundreds of scattered stations, coastal bases, and ships at sea. It is subject to error compared to the older and more cumbersome latitude-longitude detection methods. Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists prepared by the National Hurricane Center in the US.
In the beginning, storms were given arbitrary names. Feminine names for storms began to be used from the mid-1900s. The WMO said in its website that meteorologists later decided to name the storms from a list for a more organized and efficient system.
Centers assigned for naming
There are six Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers (RSMCs) and five Regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers around the world, which are mandated for issuing advisories and naming cyclonic storms. The RSMCs of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) are one of them tasked with naming the cyclone.
Naming cyclones near India
The naming of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea began in September 2004. The IMD provides cyclone and hurricane advisories to 13 countries in the North Indian Ocean. The list is arranged according to names. Names are decided on the basis of gender, politics, religious beliefs and cultures.
A few other things to note
The storm originating from the South China Sea that crosses Thailand and emerges in the Bay of Bengal will not be renamed. Once a name is used, it will not be repeated. Hurricane names can have up to eight characters. Must not be derogatory to any member country or hurt the sentiments of any group of population.
A new list was released in 2020 with 169 names, which includes 13 names from 13 countries. Earlier, eight countries had given 64 designations. The names of India that have been used include Gati (motion), Megh (cloud), Akash (sky). Other designations that have been used previously include Ogni, Helen and Fani from Bangladesh. Apart from this, the names of Laila, Nargis and Bulbul are also included from Pakistan.
The cyclone to be formed after Asani will be called Sitarang, a name given by Thailand. Names that will be used in the future include India’s Ghurni, Probaho, Jhar and Murasu, Biparjoy (Bangladesh), Asif (Saudi Arabia), Dixam (Yemen) and Toofan (Iran) and Shakti (Sri Lanka).