Rapid Fire
Cyclone Montha
- 29 Oct 2025
- 2 min read
Cyclone Montha, a severe cyclonic storm, made landfall in Andhra Pradesh, bringing heavy rains, strong winds, and widespread damage across coastal Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, and parts of Tamil Nadu.
- Cyclone Montha formed over the west-central Bay of Bengal(BoB) as a low-pressure system and quickly intensified into a Severe Cyclonic Storm (SCS) (wind speed the range of 89 to 117 kmph).
- Cyclones Formation in BoB: Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are driven westward by easterly trade winds between 5°–20° latitudes, pushing them toward the Indian east coast, similar to Atlantic storms moving toward the Americas.
- Naming of Cyclone: The cyclone is named “Montha,” a Thai word meaning beautiful or fragrant flower.
- The name was contributed by Thailand under the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Panel on Tropical Cyclones(PTC), which oversees the naming of cyclones in the North Indian Ocean region.
- Cyclone names are gender-neutral, culturally neutral, and capped at eight letters, ensuring clarity and global acceptance, and aids in effective disaster management and public awareness.
- WMO-ESCAP- PTC: It was formed in 1972, as an intergovernmental body of countries affected by cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
- Its members include Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
- The Panel, under the WMO Tropical Cyclone Programme, coordinates with Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) and Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs).
- India Meteorological Department (IMD) is one of the six RSMCs.
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