Cyclone Michaung

Cyclone Michaung

News: Cyclone Michaung, heading towards the Andhra coast, is considered unusual due to its high intensity and timing in December, a month when storms in the North Indian Ocean typically don’t reach destructive levels.

Background:
• The cyclone which was initially considered to be a ‘Tropical cyclone’ was upgraded to a ‘severe storm’.
• This intensification in December is unique, attributed to above-normal heat index values off the southern Andhra Pradesh coast.
• Cyclone intensification is influenced by factors such as warm ocean temperatures, Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential (TCHP), atmospheric conditions, wind shear, convection, Rossby waves, and air-sea interaction.
• The name ‘Michaung’ for the cyclone was proposed by Myanmar. The term ‘Michaung’ denotes fortitude and resiliency.

What are Cyclones?
• Cyclones are large-scale weather systems characterized by low-pressure centers, rotating winds, and atmospheric instability. They are known by different names in various regions, such as hurricanes (Atlantic and eastern Pacific), typhoons (northwestern Pacific), and tropical cyclones (southwestern Pacific and Indian Ocean).
• The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) classifies cyclones broadly into two categories: extratropical cyclones and tropical cyclones.

What are Extra-tropical cyclones?
• Also known as mid-latitude cyclones, extratropical cyclones occur outside the tropics (that is beyond the areas that fall under the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn).
• They have “cold air at their core, and derive their energy from the release of potential energy when cold and warm air masses interact”, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

What are Tropical cyclones?
• Tropical cyclones are those which develop in the regions between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. They are the most devastating storms on Earth.
• Such cyclones develop when “thunderstorm activity starts building close to the centre of circulation, and the strongest winds and rain are no longer in a band far from the centre,” NOAA noted.

What are the difference between Extra-Tropical and Tropical Cyclones?