Cyclones and their naming system

Cyclone Amphan, which recently hit East India and Bangladesh, brought in unprecedented damage and destruction with it. 'Amphan', pronounced as 'Um-pun', means sky and was suggested by Thailand in 2004.

Aila, Maya, Nargis, Nilofer might sound like the names of people, but they are, in fact, names of lethal cyclones that brought in massive destruction and loss of lives in the regions adjacent to the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The naming of cyclones might seem insensitive or juvenile, but the practice of naming cyclones dates back several centuries when cyclones were usually named after Roman Catholic saints. Although cyclones are primarily named to distinguish one cyclone from another, the naming system has always had a pattern to it.

The Padre-Ruiz Hurricane of 1834 for instance, was named after a Catholic saint in the Dominican Republic, while the San Felipe Hurricane of 1876 was named after a Catholic priest.

In 1944, the United States Army Air Forces forecasters at the Saipan Weather Center took to naming storms or hurricanes after their wives or girlfriends. The United States Weather Bureau, however, decided to drop the idea of naming Atlantic hurricanes as they felt it was silly, disregarding and inappropriate. But when in August and September 1950, three tropical cyclones occurred simultaneously and impacted the United States, it confused the media and the public. That is what prompted the practice of naming cyclones in public statements and reports.

Three years later, in 1953, the practice of using women's names to name cyclones officially came into existence. The US Weather Service adopted a new phonetic alphabet system from A to W leaving out a few letters for the naming of cyclones, which sparked protests against the usage of female names only. The system was then revised to include men’s name as well. The names of cyclones in the Atlantic and Pacific regions are recirculated every six years, while skipping to name a cyclone when it claims lives or results in huge property damage.

The United States National Hurricane Centre, United States Central Pacific Hurricane Centre, Japan Meteorological Agency, Mauritius Meteorological Services, Fiji Meteorological Services, Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, Papua New Guinea National Weather Service and the Indian Meteorological Department, currently name cyclone based on the coordinates on which the storm is formed.

However, the naming happens in a slightly different way around the Bay of Bengal, and the Arabian Sea region. After long deliberations among the eight-member nations, i.e., Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, the naming of tropical cyclones over the north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004. The nations suggest names alphabetically which is arranged in a sequential list. The Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) here in New Delhi gives a tropical cyclone an identification from the names list.

For instance, as Cyclone Fani pounded the Odisha coast, last year, the name, which was suggested by Bangladesh, evoked curiosity. Mritunjay Mohapatra, the additional director-general of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), said Fani, pronounced as 'Foni', means a snake's hood.

Similarly, Bangladesh suggested 'Onil' the first in the list, which originated in Arabian Sea. Cyclone Phetai, suggested by Thailand, originated in the Bay of Bengal. The next cyclone named 'Vayu' was suggested by India. Of the 64 names suggested by these eight countries, 57 have been utilised. Some of the other names suggested by India are Agni, Jali, Bijli, Akash, while Mala, Helen and Nilofar were suggested by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan respectively.

Here, the names are not rotated every few years. It is believed that since the cyclones cause so much death, destruction and devastation, names are considered for retirement and hence is not used repeatedly.

“Amphan" was the last name on the current list before a new one starts.

In 2018, the WMO/ESCAP expanded to include five more countries, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The new list released in April has 169 names of cyclones, a compilation of 13 suggestions each from 13 countries.

According to the Press Information Bureau, the next few cyclones will be named Nisarga (suggested by Bangladesh), Gati (India), Nivar (Iran), Burevi (Maldives), Tauktae (Myanmar) and Yaas (Oman).

In the new list, India has suggested names like Tej, Murasu, Aag, Vyom, Jhar, Probaho, Neer, Prabhanjan, Ghurni, Ambud, Jaladhi and Vega.

The fundamental criteria of a name being deemed as acceptable are that the name should be short and readily understood when broadcasted. The names definitely must not be culturally sensitive or convey some unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning.

Storms over South Pacific and Indian Ocean are known as cyclones. In the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific ocean, the term hurricane is used. The same type of disturbance in the Northwest Pacific Ocean is called a typhoon.