BENGALURU: Cyclone Kyarr, which originated in the east-central Arabian Sea, was named even before it was formed. The name of the next cyclone has also been decided. The next cyclone will be called Maha and the following one Bulbul.
The names of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea are decided by eight countries. Each of them lists out eight names which are approved by weathermen of these countries. So each time the list has 64 names. The countries take turns to name the cyclones. Cyclone Kyarr has been named by Myanmar. The first cyclone Myanmar named was Pyarr, in 2005. The first cyclone named by India was Agni, in 2004, and the last one was Vayu in 2019. The cyclone before Kyarr was called Hikaa and was named by Maldives.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) officials said this is a regular practice where the affected Asian countries get to name the cyclones. The names are pre-decided and the list is shared. Soon another meeting will be held to decide on a new set of names as the present list is nearly exhausted.
The countries that get to name the cyclones are India, Pakistan, Oman, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The next cyclone Maha is named by Oman and Bulbul by Pakistan. Then it is Sri Lanka’s turn, which has chosen the name Pawan and the last on the list is Amphan by Thailand.
Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre Director G S Srinivas Reddy said the names are kept well in advance and circulated so that there is no confusion. The names have no meaning or reference as such. Some cyclones have been named after women while some are synonyms or antonyms of strength.