All about the Cyclones: Nisarga & Amphan; And Why India is a Cyclone-Magnet?
2020 has been a rough ride for everybody. Some are going to come out broken, and shattered, and some are going to come out as the new Champions, who were battered but not lost. While all this depends on you, today we'll be talking about something new which 2020 has brought to us [apart from many, many more heartbreaks], Cyclones! While India has always been 'a magnet for cyclones', the past year has seen some continuous bombarding of the Indian coastline by severe Tropical Cyclones with cyclone Vayu in June, Titli in October, Gaja in November, Phethai in December, Super-cyclone Amphan a few days back, and Nisarga now. Even though this incoming cyclone is 'expected' to be less intense than the recently passed Amphan (it can still prove to be devastating, courtesy to Mumbai's great drainage system).
A cyclonic storm has developed off the eastern coast of India over the east-central Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep area, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD); and as of 1st June, it is about 700 km southwest of Mumbai, 360 km from Panjim (Goa), and 900 km from Surat (Gujarat), which is not very far in cyclonic standards, and you might have also noticed the dull and dark atmosphere outside, indicating, the arrival of this new cyclone.
It is expected that it will hit the Indian shores at Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, and parts of Karnataka by June 3/4, bringing extremely heavy rainfall throughout the Konkan coast and heavy rainfall in parts of interior Maharashtra.
The wind speeds of Nisarga are expected to reach a maximum of 110 km/h, while in comparison, wind speeds of that of Amphan crossed the 250 km/h barrier, when at peak. It is also a known fact that the Eastern coast of India, faces much more severe cyclones than those of the West, both in numbers, and intensity. But it is too early right now to judge, just how much damage cyclone Nisarga will do, and hoping that the IMD are right, it shouldn't be dealing extreme damage, except heavy flooding of some places, and should pass in a few days.
Some Common Questions related to Cyclones
1. "How are Cyclones named?"
Worldwide there are 6 Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) and 5 Regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs) formed for providing information on upcoming cyclones. Indian Meteorological Department is one of the 6 RSMCs to provide warnings and other information to 13 member countries including Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Apart from this, the IMD also names all the cyclones formed in the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and north Indian Ocean.
A list of names is formed by all the member countries (13 in this case), and those names are used to name the cyclones formed in the particular area. Ofcourse, as everything has rules, naming a cyclone also has a long list of rules, of which some are: 1. The proposed name should be neutral to (a) politics and political figures (b) religious believes, (c) cultures and (d) gender 2. Name should be chosen in such a way that it does not hurt the sentiments of any group of population over the globe 3. It should not be very rude and cruel in nature 4. It should be short, easy to pronounce and should not be offensive to any member 5. The maximum length of the name will be eight letters
6. It should not be repeated.
[You can read all the rules, and the whole list of names being used right now by clicking here]
The name 'Nisarga', has been proposed by Bangladesh.
2. "How are Cyclones Formed?"
Tropical cyclones form over warm ocean waters near the equator. The heat causes the warm, moist air to rise from over the ocean, creating an area of lower air pressure.
Cool air from surrounding areas then rush in to fill in the low pressure area. However, this new air too becomes warm and rises, causing more cool air to gush in. This process continues causing a cyclonic storm.
The warm air — containing water vapour — rises and cools, forming clouds. This whole system of clouds and wind spins and grows. This system is continuously fed by the ocean’s heat and water evaporating from the ocean surface.
Tropical cyclones usually weaken when they hit land as they are no longer being “fed” by the warm ocean waters. However, they cause extremely heavy rainfall and heavy wind damage before they die out completely. Now since you know that the shape of India is triangular or also known as peninsular (covered by water on three sides), India is a perfect breeding ground for cyclones and gets hit by an average 3 each year. According to IMD, India has faced more than 300 cyclones in the past 100 years, of which, 108 were severe. The warm waters of the Bay of Bengal, are ever-ready for a cyclone to come so that they can feed it, and the cyclones coming from the Pacific ocean, also usually hit India, as they don't find any large enough landmass in between, while crossing Malaysia and Thailand.
Cyclones are classified into five categories depending on the strength of the winds produced and the damage it is expected to cause [1 being the least dangerous and 5 being the most dangerous]. Super Cyclone Amphan was of the 5th category and caused damage of over $13 Billion, taking away over 85 lives, and displacing almost 45 lakh people. While it is said that cyclone Nisarga will be less intense, it is not yet known in which category it will land on.