Cyclone Arnab and Naming of Tropical Cyclones

Why in News?

According to the supplied passage, Cyclone Arnab made landfall along the Andhra Pradesh coast on 28 October, affecting parts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh with strong winds and heavy rainfall. It was described as the first named cyclone of the year.

Key Features of Cyclone Arnab

• Name: Arnab (pronounced Ornab).
• Naming country: Bangladesh.
• Meaning: Ocean or sea in Bengali.
• Region: North Indian Ocean.

How Are Cyclones Named?

• Cyclones are named to make their identification and communication easier for the public, media and disaster-management authorities.
• A weather disturbance does not receive a name immediately upon formation.
• In the North Indian Ocean, a system is assigned a name when its maximum sustained surface wind speed reaches at least 34 knots (approximately 62 km/h).
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD), as the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre for the region, monitors cyclonic systems and assigns names from the approved list.
• Names are used in a predetermined sequence, irrespective of the cyclone’s place of origin, landfall location or intensity.

Cyclone Naming: Background and Mechanism

• In 2000, eight countries—Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand—agreed to introduce a system for naming tropical cyclones in the North Indian Ocean.
• The list was finalised by the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC).
• In 2018, five more countries joined the regional naming system: Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
• The regional list now comprises names contributed by 13 countries.
• Each country contributes names to a common list. The next available name is used in the prescribed sequence.

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