CYCLONE TAUKTAE

CYCLONE TAUKTAE

Subject : Geography

Context : Recently, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned against Cyclone Tauktae, strengthening and intensifying into a ‘very severe’ cyclonic storm.

Concept :

About Cyclone Tauktae

• It is formed over Southeast Arabian Sea.
• It shall cause extremely heavy rainfall (more than 204 mm) over Lakshadweep, Kerala, ghats of Tamil Nadu, coastal Karnataka.
• The word Tauktae has been suggested by Myanmar.
• It means ‘gecko’, a distinctively vocal lizard, in the Burmese language.

Naming cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea

• The World Meteorological Organisation/United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (WMO/UNESCAP) Panel on Tropical Cyclones agreed in principle to assign names to the tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
• It was decided to name cyclones in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea during WMO/ESCAP’s 27th session held in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, in 2000.
• The naming of the tropical cyclones over the north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004, with names provided by eight members.
• The members are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
• In September 2018, it was decided to prepare a fresh list of names of tropical cyclones including representation from five new member countries, viz., Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.