Context:
According to an Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) advisory, the cyclone Biparjoy would result in squally weather with wind speeds reaching 35-45 kmph along the coastline of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.
- The name ‘Biparjoy’ was suggested by Bangladesh and the word means ‘disaster’ or ‘calamity’ in Bengali.
- After Bangladesh, the next cyclone will be named ‘Tej’ based on India’s suggestion.
- The naming of cyclones is done by countries on a rotational basis, following certain existing guidelines.
- Advisory issuing bodies: Worldwide, there are six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) and five regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs) mandated for issuing advisories and naming of tropical cyclones.
- IMD as RMSC: It is one of the six RSMCs to provide tropical cyclone and storm surge advisories to 13 member countries under the WMO/Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP) Panel.
- Member Countries which names cyclones:
- Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
- The list of 169 cyclone names released by IMD in 2020 was provided by these countries — 13 suggestions from each of the 13 countries.
- RSMC, New Delhi is also mandated to name the Tropical Cyclones developing over the north Indian Ocean (NIO), including the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
- The proposed name should be neutral to (a) politics and political figures (b) religious believes, (c) cultures and (d) gender.
- Name should be chosen in such a way that it does not hurt the sentiments of any group of population over the globe.
- It should not be very rude and cruel in nature.
- It should be short, easy to pronounce and should not be offensive to any member.
- The maximum length of the name will be eight letters.