Why are Cyclones named? Here is how Asani was named

New Delhi: According to the India Meteorological Department, a low-pressure area that formed over the South Andaman Sea on Friday morning may intensify into a depression on May 7 and then become a cyclonic storm by the evening of May 8. Asani, the cyclone that is expected to form over the Bay of Bengal, will be the year’s first.

Sri Lanka has named the cyclone Asani, which means “wrath” in Sinhalese. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), multiple cyclones can exist at the same time in a specific geographical location or around the world. To avoid confusion, each tropical storm is given a name.

The cyclones must be named:

The naming of cyclones is less prone to error than the older and more time-consuming latitude-longitude identification methods. Short, easy-to-pronounce names help in the rapid and effective distribution of detailed cyclone information. The order of the list is determined by the names of the counties, which are listed alphabetically.

How do cyclones get their names?

The World Meteorological Organization/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (WMO/ESCAP) Panel on Tropical Cyclones names the storms (PTC).

Thirteen countries name cyclones in the region, including India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Maldives, Oman, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

In 2020, a new list of 169 cyclone names was produced, with 13 suggested names from each of the 13 countries.

Apart from ‘Asani’ and ‘Ampan,’ other cyclones on the IMD list include ‘Gati,’ ‘Nivar,’ ‘Burevi,’ ‘Tauktae,’Yaas,’Gulab,’Shaheen,’ and ‘Jawad.’

India, Bangladesh, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen collaborated on the list of names.

Cyclone names in the future:

The cyclone that will form following Asani will be known as Sitrang, a Thai name.
Ghurni, Probaho, Jhar, and Murasu are some of the Indian names that will be utilised in the future.

Biparjoy (Bangladesh), Asif (Saudi Arabia), Diksam (Yemen), Toofan (Iran), and Shakhti (Kazakhstan) are some of the other names (Sri Lanka).