Madhya Pradesh
Cyclone Montha
- 28 Oct 2025
- 2 min read
Why in News?
The cyclonic storm "Montha", forming over the Bay of Bengal, is intensifying as it approaches the eastern coast of India, prompting Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu to issue high-alert warnings.
Key Points
- Definition: Cyclones are fast air circulations around low-pressure areas, rotating anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern, often causing storms and severe weather.
- Classification of Cyclones: IMD classifies low-pressure systems in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea by damage potential, following World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) guidelines.
- Naming of Cyclones: The WMO/ESCAP (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) Panel on Tropical Cyclones, which includes 13 North Indian Ocean countries, manages cyclone naming for the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
- The panel has a pre-set list of names submitted by 13 countries to be used sequentially.
- Names are chosen in order, column by column, regardless of where the cyclone forms.
- Recent Cyclones:
- The name ‘Montha’, meaning beautiful or fragrant flower, was contributed by Thailand.
- The first cyclonic storm of the season was named 'Shakhti', as suggested by Sri Lanka. Other recent cyclones include Shakhti (Sri Lanka), Fengal (Saudi Arabia), Dana (Qatar), Asna (Pakistan), and Remal (Oman).
- According to the naming list, the next cyclone will be Senyar (UAE), followed by Ditwah (Yemen), Arnab (Bangladesh), and Murasu (India).
