Very Strong Cyclonic Storm Arnab: Explained – Why Was It Named Arnab? What are cyclones called? How the naming system works | Today’s news
Cyclone Arnab has strengthened into a “very severe cyclonic storm” over the Bay of Bengal and is preparing to make landfall along India’s east coast on Wednesday 18 October.
However, during such extreme weather events, a common question arises: Where did the cyclone get its name, and how exactly does the global naming process work?
Read also | Arnab Cyclone Tracker: Red alert in Andhra, Odisha as ‘very severe’ storm approaches
Why was the cyclone named Arnab?
The name ‘Arnab’ was officially suggested by Bangladesh.
Quick answers to key questions
•5 QUESTIONS
Arnab was the next available name on the North Indian Ocean cyclone list and was proposed by Bangladesh. In Bengali, “Arnab” means “ocean” or “sea”; the name does not indicate the intensity of the cyclone or where it will make landfall.
The New Delhi-based IMD assigns names to cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The names come from a pre-approved list submitted by the 13 participating countries and are used sequentially.
The system is named after it has reached cyclonic storm strength with maximum sustained surface winds of at least 34 knots – about 62 km/h. Forming above the sea alone is not enough.
Short, catchy names help avoid confusion, especially when multiple weather systems are developing at the same time. They also facilitate the communication of warnings, evacuation orders and public information.
No. Under the system described by the IMD, a name is permanently removed from the list after use.
According to the official IMD Cyclone Name List, the word “Arnab” translates as “ocean” or “sea” in Bengali. However, meteorologists stressed that naming a cyclone has nothing to do with its intensity, direction or the specific country it is expected to hit.
According to IMD protocols, the name of any cyclone is simply the next available entry on a pre-approved rotating list of tropical cyclone names designated for the North Indian Ocean region.
Therefore, even though Bangladesh contributed to the name, the cyclonic storm is currently tracking the coast of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
Read also | Cyclone Arnab: Impact Andhra Pradesh likely on Oct 28; Odisha closes schools
What are cyclones called?
Globally, tropical cyclones are named by Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers (RSMCs) and Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers (TCWCs) under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), as directed by the UN agency.
For the North Indian Ocean region – which includes the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea – this crucial responsibility falls to the Delhi-based IMD.
The WMO mandates that the IMD serve as the RSMC for this geographic zone, officially assigning names to developing weather systems once they reach a specific intensity.
According to the IMD, a weather system is not given a name simply because it forms over the sea; it must reach a maximum sustained surface wind speed of at least 34 knots (approximately 62 km/h) to be officially classified and named as a cyclonic storm.
Read also | Odisha, Andhra on alert as Cyclone Arnab to make landfall on October 28
How does the naming system work?
A formal naming protocol for the northern Indian Ocean began in September 2004.
In April 2020, an official report from the Ministry of Earth Sciences detailed that the WMO/ESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) panel expanded the operational list to 13 participating countries: Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, United States, Qatar (Early Arabia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, South Africa).
Under the IMD’s established framework, each of the 13 member countries submitted 13 names, resulting in a consolidated master list of 169 names. These names are arranged column by column in alphabetical order by contributing country and are used in strict order.
When countries propose these names, they must follow strict WMO guidelines. The panel mandates that the names must be short (no more than eight letters), easy to pronounce and strictly neutral – meaning they must not offend the religious, political or cultural sensibilities of any community.
Unlike the Atlantic hurricane system, where the names of exceptionally destructive storms are canceled and others are recycled, the North Indian Ocean system never reuses a name. Once a name is used, IMD permanently removes it from the list.
Read also | IMD Weather Alert Today: ‘Red’ alert for heavy rains in Keralam, Tamil Nadu
Why do we call them cyclones?
Assigning short, catchy names to cyclones is vital for effective crisis management, the WMO says. It eliminates the confusion of using complex technical geographic coordinates, especially when multiple weather systems are developing over the ocean at the same time.
According to disaster management authorities, a clear name makes it much easier for them to issue evacuation orders, the media to report on the trajectory, and the general public to understand and prepare for the impending danger.
