Cyclone Biparjoy, the latest tropical storm brewing in the Arabian Sea, has been making headlines across India. But have you ever wondered how the cyclones get their names?
Weather forecasters give each tropical cyclone a name to avoid confusion, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. In general, tropical cyclones are named according to the rules at regional level.
For the Indian Ocean region, a formula for naming cyclones was agreed upon in 2000. Thirteen countries in the region - Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen - contributed a set of names, which are assigned sequentially whenever a cyclonic storm develops.
The names are chosen to be easy to remember and pronounce, and they must not be offensive or controversial. They are also chosen from a variety of languages so that people from different regions can identify with them.
Cyclone Mocha, for example, was one of the names proposed by Yemen, based on a small fishing village in the country known for its coffee production.
On the other hand, the name 'Biparjoy' was suggested by Bangladesh.
The responsibility of choosing a name for a cyclone in the North Indian Ocean falls upon the India Meteorological Department, in accordance with the decree issued by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
The IMD collected 169 (13 from each of the 13 countries it is responsible for) names for upcoming cyclones in 2020.
These names are divided into lists, with 13 names in each of them. List 1 has been exhaused after Mocha hit, and now Biparjoy is the first name on List 2. The upcoming tropical cyclone that will hit South Asia will be called 'Tej', a name suggested by India.
The naming system has evolved over time. In the early years of the practice, the names were chosen alphabetically, with one name assigned to each letter of the alphabet. However, this system was found to be confusing and difficult to remember, so the current system of pre-defined names was introduced.
In the Atlantic and Southern hemisphere (Indian Ocean and South Pacific), tropical cyclones receive names in alphabetical order, alternating between women and men's names.
In the Northern Indian Ocean, nations began using a new system for naming tropical cyclones in 2000. Names are listed alphabetically country-wise, and are neutral gender-wise. The name list is proposed by the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of WMO Members of a specific region and approved by respective tropical cyclone regional bodies at their annual or biennial sessions.
(With PTI inputs)
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