Cyclone Nivar: How cyclones are named

The threat of Cyclone Nivar looms large over Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Puducherry as the deep depression in the Bay of Bengal intensified on Tuesday morning. In all probability, it will make landfall around Puducherry on Wednesday evening as a severe cyclonic storm. The fast-approaching cyclone has prompted the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry governments to mount massive efforts to minimise damage.

And the question that lingers in the bubble of curiosity before the advent of any cyclone has once again popped up this time: How are cyclones named?

Read: Tamil Nadu, Puducherry brace for Cyclone Nivar; mount massive efforts to minimise damage

Nivar is the third name to be used from the new list of names for North Indian Ocean Cyclones, released in 2020. It was suggested by Iran.

How did Nivar get its name?

In 2000, the World Meteorological Organisation and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific reached upon an agreement to name the tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea in a formulaic manner, and the members of the panel, that is, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand gave 13 names each. Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen were also added to the panel in 2018.

Nivar is one of the names on the list, released in April, that has 169 names of cyclones, a compilation of 13 suggestions each from 13 countries

In May, Cyclone Amphan left a trail of devastation in West Bengal and Odisha. 'Amphan,' pronounced as 'Um-pun,' means sky and was suggested by Thailand in 2004.

Also read: PM Modi dials Tamil Nadu, Puducherry CMs over Cyclone Nivar

Some cyclone names like 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.

Read more: NCMC takes stock of preparedness for cyclone Nivar, expected to hit Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry

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.

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.

The next few cyclones will be named Burevi (Maldives), Tauktae (Myanmar), Yaas (Oman), and Gulab (Pakistan) as per the new list of tropical cyclone names adopted by the member countries.

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