Important Facts For Prelims
Cyclone Gulab
- 30 Sep 2021
- 3 min read
Why in News
Recently, Cyclone Gulab made landfall on India’s east coast and weakened into a depression.
- Another cyclone–Shaheen–may form over the Arabian Sea from the remnant of cyclone Gulab.
Key Points
- Named By:
- Gulab was a tropical cyclone and was named by Pakistan. It affected the coasts of south Odisha north Andhra Pradesh.
- According to WMO (World Meteorological Organization) guidelines, countries in every region are supposed to give names for cyclones.
- The 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, Thailand, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen.
- Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), one of the six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMC) in the world, is mandated to issue advisories and name tropical cyclones in the north Indian Ocean Region.
- It is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
- Gulab was a tropical cyclone and was named by Pakistan. It affected the coasts of south Odisha north Andhra Pradesh.
- Occurrence:
- India has a bi-annual cyclone season that occurs between March to May and October to December. But on rare occasions, cyclones do occur in June and September months.
- Cyclone Gulab became the third cyclone of the 21st century to make landfall over the east coast in September, after tropical cyclone Daye in 2018 and Pyarr in 2005.
- Typically, tropical cyclones in the North Indian Ocean region (Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea) develop during the pre-monsoon (April to June) and post-monsoon (October to December) periods.
- May-June and October-November are known to produce cyclones of severe intensity that affect the Indian coasts.
- India has a bi-annual cyclone season that occurs between March to May and October to December. But on rare occasions, cyclones do occur in June and September months.
- Classification:
- The IMD classifies cyclones on the basis of the Maximum Sustained Surface Wind Speed (MSW) they generate.
- The cyclones are classified as severe (MSW of 48-63 knots), very severe (MSW of 64-89 knots), extremely severe (MSW of 90-119 knots) and super cyclonic storm (MSW of 120 knots or more). One knot is equal to 1.8 kmph (kilometers per hour).
- Cyclone Gulab Falls into the severe category with maximum speed of 95 km/hr.
- Cyclones that Hit India in 2020-21: Tauktae, Yaas, Nisarga, Amphan.
