As cyclone Biparjoy threatens India and Pakistan, let's find out how cyclones get their names
Written By: Moohita Kaur Garg | Updated: Jun 13, 2023, 05:05 PM IST
Cyclone Biparjoy, a 'very severe' cyclonic storm that has formed over the east-central Arabian Sea, is threatening neighbours India and Pakistan. As the two nations brace for the impending landfall of cyclonic storm Biparjoy, let's take a look at how these cyclones get their names.
More Context
-Where exactly is the cyclone expected to make landfall?
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) maintains rotating lists of names, which are appropriate for each tropical cyclone basin. As a common rule, cyclones formed in different ocean basins across the world are named by that areas, regional specialised meteorological centres (RSMCs) and Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs). There are six RSMCs round the world. Southwest Pacific Ocean: RSMC Nadi-Tropical Cyclone Centre - Fiji Meteorological Service (Nadi, Fiji)
Southwest Indian Ocean: RSMC La Reunion-Tropical Cyclone Centre / Meteo France (Reunion island, French Overseas Department)
Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea: RSMC - Tropical Cyclones New Delhi / India Meteorological Department (New Delhi, India)
Western North Pacific Ocean and South China Sea RSMC Tokyo / Japan Meteorological Agency (Tokyo, Japan)
Central North Pacific Ocean - RSMC Honolulu Central Pacific Hurricane Center (Honolulu, Hawaii, USA)
Northeast Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and north Atlantic Ocean - RSMC Miami / National Hurricane Center So, for the current cyclone Biparjoy that originated in the Arabian Sea, the name was taken from a list maintained by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
As we already mentioned, different regions have their own Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) who decide the names, generally from a list of names they have. The names are suggested by member nations of the RSMCs. Example: The Indian RSMC has 13 nations -- India, Bangladesh, Iran, Myanmar, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen. Each nation suggested 13 names each. In cyclone Biporjoy's case the name was recommended by Bangladesh means. This Bangla name means 'disaster'.
While picking names for cyclones, there are a few rules that countries need to follow. If these rules/guidelines are met, the name is accepted by the panel on tropical cyclones (PTC) that finalises the selection: 1. The proposed name should be neutral to (a) politics and political figures (b) religious believes, (c) cultures and (d) gender
2. Name should be chosen in such a way that it does not hurt the sentiments of any group of population over the globe
3. It should not be very rude and cruel in nature
4. It should be short, easy to pronounce and should not be offensive to any member
5. The maximum length of the name will be eight letters
6. The proposed name should be provided with its pronunciation and voice over
You might've noticed that in the previous slide, we mentioned retired hurricane names. If you're wondering why we did that while talking about cyclones, it's because both are basically the same thing. The spiralling tropical storms are called hurricanes when they develop over the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific. However, when they form over the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, they're called hurricanes and typhoons when they develop in the Northwest Pacific.