Cyclone Biparjoy: Here is how cyclones get their names

Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to make landfall on June 15.

Cyclone Biparjoy, which is currently brewing tropical storms in the Arabian Sea has been making headlines for a few days now. This cyclone, like many others, is a significant threat to coastal areas across the country.

In an attempt to make enhancements with respect to tracking and communicating these cyclonic systems, many meteorological organisations follow a systematic naming convention. Weather forecasts provide a name for each tropical cyclone to avoid confusion, as per the World Meteorological Organisation(WMO). Surprisingly, up until two decades ago, there existed no standard naming process for cyclones within the borders of the Indian Subcontinent.

Once a cyclone develops enough to meet the specific criteria, the naming is done on the basis of a predetermined list. The name assigned to a particular cyclone remains the same throughout its lifetime, despite its intensity. Generally, these tropical cyclones have their nomenclature carried out on the basis of the rules at the regional level.

For example, within the region of the Indian Ocean, a formula for naming cyclones was agreed upon in the year 2000. There are thirteen countries that lie within this region that include Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. These countries contributed a set of names which have been sequentially assigned whenever there is a development of a cyclonic storm.

The name for the current cyclone Biparjoy was provided by Bangladesh, which signifies ‘disaster’ or ‘calamity’ in Bangla. The responsibility of naming a cyclone in the northern part of the Indian Ocean falls upon the India Meteorological Department (IMD), in accordance with the decree issued by the WMO.

Another example is Cyclone Mocha, the name for which was chosen by Yemen, based on a small fishing village within the country, recognised for its coffee production.

Attempting to reflect cultural significance, IMD had used the name Amphan for the cyclone that hit West Bengal in 2020. The name means sky in Thai.

The naming system has had its share of evolution over time. Earlier, these names were chosen alphabetically, with one name being assigned to each letter of the alphabet. But since this method proved to be highly confusing, the current system of pre-defined names was introduced. Within the Atlantic as well as the Southern Hemisphere, the tropical cyclones are named in alphabetic order that alternate between women’s and men’s names.