The fact behind the naming of cyclones.

The two names assigned to the tropical cyclones Tauktae and Yaas in India were the first of the thirteen names approved by WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) and sent by Myanmar and Oman respectively.

About WMO/ESCAP panel on Tropical Cyclones

It is an inter-governmental regional body jointly established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP) in 1972 and associated with the Tropical Cyclone Program of WMO. Its first session was conducted in 1973 in Bangkok, Thailand. Its member nations are Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand along with Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen (which were included in 2018)

Its main objective is to promote steps to improve tropical cyclone warning systems in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, including dissemination of technical Information on tropical cyclone research and forecasting operations to lessen the socio-economic impacts of tropical cyclone-related disasters. So, keeping it in mind the best way to make people aware by campaigning and other ways is to christen it. As naming a cyclone is the easiest way to remember it by people, then using technical terms and numbers.

The naming guidelines

·        The chosen name should not be against or in favor of (a) politics and political figures (b) religious believes, (c) cultures and (d) gender

·        Name proposed should be in such a way that it does not hurt the sentiments of any group of population over the globe, must not be rude or cruel.

·        It must be easy to pronounce and short with maximum length of the name be eight letters.

·        The proposed name should be given along with its pronunciation and voice over.

·        The names of tropical cyclones over the north Indian Ocean will be used once. Thus, the name should be new for a new cyclone.

Similarly, the cyclone hitting the western coast of India was named Tauktae, suggested by Myanmar, which means “gecko” — a highly vocal lizard — in Burmese dialect. And, Yaas which is going to hit the coasts of West Bengal and Odisha named by Oman, refers to a tree that has a good fragrance and in English, the word is similar to Jasmine.

The list released by IMD in April 2020 of 169 cyclone names, were suggested by the member countries — 13 suggestions from each of the 13 countries.