As Asani intensifies, a look at why and how cyclones are named

The severe cyclonic storm, Asani, in the Bay of Bengal was moving t owards coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on Monday at a speed of 25 km per hour, carrying winds up to 120 km per hour. According to the weather office, the storm is expected to weaken gradually over the next two days. Cyclones occur several times across the globe throughout the year and each time with an interesting name like Asani, or Aila or Amphan they become an intriguing topic of discussion. With Cyclone Asani – a name given by Sri Lanka that means ‘wrath’ in Sinhalese – formed in the Bay of Bengal on Sunday morning and hurtled towards the east coast, the same question pops up again. Why are the cyclones named? According to the World Meteorological Organisation, a United Nations agency that looks into weather, climate, and water resources, tropical cyclones can last for a week or more; therefore there can be more than one cyclone at a time. Weather forecasters give each tropical cyclone a name to avoid confusion. This makes it easier for those involved from the public to the scientific community to understand and remember the name of the cyclone hitting their region. It facilitates disaster risk awareness, preparedness, management and reduction. When did the naming start? The decision to start naming cyclones in Asia and the Pacific came about in the year 2000. The WMO/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (WMO/ESCAP), a group of nations comprising India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Oman, the Maldives, and Thailand, took that call. In 2018, five more nations Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen joined the group. Each country sends in suggestions for names and a panel finalises them, according to a report in The Indian Express. How are the cyclones named? Nations in the Northern Indian Ocean began using a new system for naming tropical cyclones in 2000; the names are listed alphabetically country wise, and are gender neutral, says WMO. However, there are rules to naming cyclones. Countries sending in their suggestions have to ensure that the names are neutral to politics and political figures, religious beliefs, cultures, and gender. The names should not hurt the sentiments of any group of people across the world. The names should not be rude or cruel in nature. It should be short, easy to pronounce, and not offensive. The name should not exceed eight letters and should be provided with the correct pronunciation and a voiceover. The names of tropical cyclones over the north Indian Ocean cannot be repeated. The names usually carry some meaning. Tauktae, which hit the west coast of India in May 2021 and became the strongest cyclone to make a landfall in Gujarat since 1998, was the name given by Myanmar and it roughly translates to lizard. It was followed by Cyclone Yaas, which lashed India and Bangladesh, and was named by Oman. Yaas refers to a tree. The names suggested by India The IMD names cyclones that form over the north Indian Ocean. In April 2020, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) released a list of 169 names of cyclones that would originate in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The names are decided by the regional specialised meteorological centres (RSMCs) and Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs). The IMD is among six RSMCs in the world; there are five TCWCs. India has provided 13 names for tropical cyclones. They include Gati, Tej, Murasu, Aag, Vyom, Jhar (pronounced Jhor), Probaho, Neer, Prabhanjan, Ghurni, Ambud, Jaladhi and Vega, reports The Indian Express. After Cyclone Asani, named by Sri Lanka, the next turn will be Thailand’s. It has suggested the name Sitrang. With inputs from agencies