Context
Recently, As per the prediction of The India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Remal hit the coasts of Bangladesh and West Bengal.
Cyclone Remal Latest Update
- It caused individuals to lose their lives, power outages, and inundation of Coastal areas.
- Remal is expected to steadily consolidate and intensify as it moves into a narrow zone of low wind shear in the northern portion of the Bay of Bengal.
About Cyclone Remal
Cycone remal is a tropical cyclone in the Northern Indian Ocean (Bay of Bengal).
- Remal means “sand” in Arabic.
- This naming follows a standard protocol for cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
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There are various reasons behind formation of Remal cyclone
- Sea Surface Warming: One of the main reasons for Remal’s formation and strengthening is the warming of sea water.
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- As the sea surface temperature rises, it provides energy for cyclones to develop and intensify.
- Low Wind Shear: Strong winds at different altitudes can interfere with cyclone development.
- Areas with low wind shear create a more favorable environment for a storm to organize and strengthen.
- Moist Atmosphere: Tropical cyclones thrive on moisture in the atmosphere.
- Abundant moisture allows for condensation, which releases energy further fueling the storm.
- Atmospheric Instability: Certain atmospheric conditions create instability, allowing warm, moist air to rise rapidly.
- This rising air cools and condenses that forms clouds and releases energy that powers the cyclone.
Naming Cyclones in the North Indian Ocean:
- Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC): The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) formed the Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) in 1972.
- Originally comprised eight member countries: Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Sultanate of Oman, and Thailand.
- Naming Cyclones:
- At the twenty-seventh session in 2000 in Muscat, Oman, the PTC decided to assign names to tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
- Cyclone naming started in 2004 after finalizing a list based on recommendations from panel countries.
- Expansion of the PTC:
- In 2018, the PTC expanded to include Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
- Current Cyclone Naming List:
- In April 2020, a list of 169 cyclone names was released, with 13 suggestions from each of the 13 countries. This list is currently in use.
- Guiding Principles for Cyclone
- Neutrality: Proposed names should be neutral and not favour any particular political party, religion, culture, or gender.
- Sensitivity: Name should not hurt the sentiments of the people around the world.
- Respectful Tone: Name should be short, easy to pronounce and not offensive, cruel, and rude.
- Length Limit: Cyclones name can go to maximum eight letters long.
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Impact of Cyclone Remal:
- Cyclone Remal’s landfall brought widespread destruction and disruption to coastal India and Bangladesh.
About Cyclone
Cyclone is a large air mass. It rotates around a central point of low atmospheric pressure.
- When viewed from above.
- In the Northern Hemisphere, it rotates Counterclockwise.
- In the Southern Hemisphere, it rotates clockwise.
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Required condition for a Cyclone:
- Sea surface with high temperature (above 27^0).
- Presence of coriolis effect for the creation of a cyclonic vortex.
- Small variations in the vertical wind speed.
- Latent heat for driving storm’s energy
- Upper level divergence above the Sea Level System.
May 27, 2024