Cyclones - Formation and Naming

Cyclones - Formation and Naming
 

News: Recently, The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that a cyclonic or low-pressure area is developing in the Bay of Bengal and can lead to high rainfall in the next few days in the region.
 

Background:

o The weather system is named Mocha pronounced as Mokha.
 

What are cyclones?

o A cyclone is a low-pressure system that forms over warm waters.
 

How are they formed?

o A high temperature anywhere means the existence of low-pressure air, and a low temperature means high pressure wind.
o As air warms over hotter regions it ascends, leading to low pressure at the surface it is covering.
o In a depression or low-pressure situation, the air is rising and blows in an anticlockwise direction (in the northern hemisphere) around the low. This is because of the Coriolis effect, a result of the earth’s rotation on its axis.
o Warm seas present favorable conditions for the development and strengthening of cyclones and fuel these systems over the water.
o As warm air rises and cools, water vapour condenses to form clouds and this can lead to rains.
 

How are cyclones named?

o Cyclones that form in every ocean basin across the world are named by the regional specialised meteorological centres (RSMCs) and Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs). There are six RSMCs in the world, including the India Meteorological Department (IMD), and five TCWCs.
o As an RSMC, the IMD names the cyclones developing over the north Indian Ocean, including the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
o In 2000, a group of nations called WMO/ESCAP (World Meteorological Organisation / United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific), which comprised Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand, decided to start naming cyclones in the region.
o After each country sent in suggestions, the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) finalised the list.
o This cyclone will be named Mocha (Mokha), a name suggested by Yemen after the Red Sea port city, which is known to have introduced coffee to the world over 500 years ago. 

Source – Indian Express