Cyclone Nivar will be the fourth cyclone to take shape in the North Indian Ocean regionthis year.
The first three cyclones were
Cyclone Gati (made landfall in Somalia on November 22),
Cyclone Amphan, (eastern India witnessed it in May), and
Cyclone Nisarga (in Maharashtra).
Nivar will be the second cyclone to hit Tamil Nadu in two years after Cyclone Gaja in 2018.
Affected Areas:
Cyclone Nivar has made landfall and crossed Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts as a very severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 120 kilometres to 130 kilometres.
Heavy rainfall continues in several parts of Tamil Nadu. Chennai International Airport still remains closed.
Name of the cyclone
The storm has been named Cyclone Nivar, based on the guidelines of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
According to WMO guidelines, countries in every region are supposed to give names for cyclones.
North Indian Ocean Region covers tropical cyclones formed over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
The 13 members, which come under the region, are Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. In 2018, five more countries were added.
These are Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen.
A total of 169 cyclones were named by these countries for this year, with 13 names from each country.
Every member’s name is listed in alphabetical order and the cyclone names are used sequentially column-wise.
Cyclones are named to make their identification easier.
It is also believed that names like these make it easier for the media to report and generates interest from the people, resulting in easier dissemination of information and increased preparedness.
The name Nisarga was given by Bangladesh, Gati was taken from India’s suggested names.
Nivara has been selected from the list of names given by Iran.
