Tej now extremely severe cyclone over the Arabian Sea; yellow alert issued for eight districts in Kerala

Tej now extremely severe cyclone over the Arabian Sea; yellow alert issued for eight districts in Kerala

Subject: Geography

Section: Physical geography

In the news: The very severe cyclone, Tej, that formed over the Arabian Sea intensified into an extremely severe cyclone.

About Tej cyclone:

• The cyclone, which is moving north-westwards, is likely to cross the Yemen coast close to Al Ghaidah as a very severe cyclonic storm with wind speed of 125-135 kmph gusting to 150 kmph.
• Regions impacted: Socotra and Al Ghaidah (Yemen), Salalah (Oman) in the Arabian sea region.
• Impact in India: Kerala is likely to receive isolated heavy rainfall triggered by the weather systems over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

How are Cyclones Classified?

• Cyclones are classified on the basis of wind speed by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD):
  • Depression: Wind speeds of between 31–49 km/h
  • Deep Depression: Between 50-61 km/h
  • Cyclonic Storm: Between 62–88 km/h
  • Severe Cyclonic Storm: Between 89-117 Km/h
  • Very Severe Cyclonic Storm: Between 118-166 Km/h
  • Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm: Between 166-221 Km/h
  • Super Cyclonic Storm: Above 222 Km/h

Colour- Coded Weather Warning

• Issued by the IMD.
• Objective is to alert people ahead of severe or hazardous weather which has the potential to cause damage, widespread disruption or danger to life.
• Warnings are updated daily.
• The IMD uses 4 colour codes:

1. Green (All is well): No advisory is issued.
2. Yellow (Be Aware): Yellow indicates severely bad weather spanning across several days. It also suggests that the weather could change for the worse, causing disruption in day-to-day activities.
3. Orange/Amber (Be prepared): The orange alert is issued as a warning of extremely bad weather with the potential of disruption in commute with road and rail closures, and interruption of power supply.
4. Red (Take Action): When the extremely bad weather conditions are certainly going to disrupt travel and power and have significant risk to life, the red alert is issued.

• These alerts are universal in nature and are also issued during floods, depending on the amount of water rising above land/in a river as a result of torrential rainfall.

Source: TH