CYCLONIC STORM ‘BUREVI’ OVER THE SOUTHWEST BAY OF BENGAL

CYCLONIC STORM ‘BUREVI’ OVER THE SOUTHWEST BAY OF BENGAL

Context

India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced the formation of Cyclone Burevi over southwest Bay of Bengal.

Details

• The cyclonic storm has been named ‘Burevi’ and the name is contributed by the Maldives.
• The deep depression over the southeast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal has now intensified into a cyclonic storm and the alerts have been issued for Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

How are the cyclones named?

• 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.
• After each country sent in suggestions, the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) finalised the list.
• The WMO/ESCAP expanded to include five more countries in 2018 — Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Why the Bay of Bengal experience more cyclone?

The Bay of Bengal is prone to cyclones because a lot of typhoons that originate in the southwestern Pacific ocean get carried north-west towards India. In addition to these, there are cyclones that develop in situ over the Bay of Bengal itself.

The Bay of Bengal experiences more cyclones than the Arabian Sea because of two reasons:

• The Bay of Bengal is warmer than the Arabian Sea, and thus more conducive to cyclone development.
• Cyclones that move from the Bay of Bengal towards the Arabian Sea loser much of their potency while travelling over the Indian peninsula.