Cyclone Nivar

• Vaid's ICS, Lucknow
• 23, Oct 2021

Why in News?

After cyclones ‘Amphan’, ‘Nisarga’ and ‘Gati’, ‘Nivar’ is heading towards Karaikal in Puducherry and is expected to make the landfall on November 25.

• Nivaris 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.
• ‘Amphan’, which was proposed by Thailand,was the last name in the 2004 series.
• ‘Nisarga’, which hit Maharashtra in June, was a name given by Bangladeshwhile India had proposed ‘Gati’, which made landfall over Somalia on November 22.

How are tropical cyclones Named ?

• 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.
• As an RSMC, the IMD names the cyclones developing over the north Indian Ocean, including the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, after following a standard procedure.
• The IMD is also mandated to issue advisories to 12 other countries in the region on the development of cyclones and storms.

When was the naming of cyclones started?

• 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) finalized the list.

The naming of cyclones over North Indian Ocean :

• The names of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea are decided by eight countries.
• Each of them lists out eight names which are approved by the weathermen of these countries.
• So each time the list has 64 names. The countries take turns to name the cyclones.

The first cyclone named by India was Agni, in 2004, and the last one was Vayu in 2019.

The 13 names in the recent list that have been suggested by India include Gati, Tej, Murasu, Aag, Vyom, Jhar (pronounced Jhor), Probaho, Neer, Prabhanjan, Ghurni, Ambud, Jaladhi and Vega.

• The countries that get to name the cyclones are India, Pakistan, Oman, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand

Facts for Prelims:

Five eyes:

• It is an intelligence coalition, which includes Australia, Canada,New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• These countries are parties to the Multilateral UK-USA Agreement.
• The UK-USA agreement is a multilateral agreement to support signal intelligence.

Origin: It started in the year 1946

Under this, the United States and the United Kingdom agreed to exchange intelligence on communications from other foreign nations.

Canada in the year 1948 and Australia and New Zealand in the year 1956 joined this alliance.