Context-According to Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) Goa, the Cyclone Kyarr, which has been gaining momentum in the past few days, has further intensified into super cyclone.

• The Super Cyclonic Storm ‘KYARR’ over the Arabian Sea lay centered at about 980 km west of Mumbai at 5.30 am on Tuesday. It is very likely to move west­ northwestwards till the evening of October 30 and then move towards Gulf of Aden off south Oman­ Yemen coasts.

KYARR cyclone

• It is the first Super Cyclonic storm in Arabian Sea in last 12 years after Cyclone Gonu ravaged the Oman coast in 2007
• Kyarr is the ninth super cyclone to have developed in the North Indian Ocean, after Super Cyclone Gonu in 2007.

What is a cyclone?

• Cyclone is a weather phenomenon. Cyclone refers to many different types of storms. It is a system of winds rotating inwards to an area of low barometric pressure, with an anticlockwise or clockwise circulation.

What are cyclones, hurricanes typhoons?

• Hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons are all the same weather phenomenon, but they have got different names in different parts of the world. For example - Hurricane in the Atlantic, Typhoon in the Pacific and Cyclone in the Indian Ocean.

 How are cyclones classified?

cyclones are classified on the basis of the wind speed.

The lowest official classification used in the North Indian Ocean is a Depression, which has 3-minute sustained wind speeds of between 20–31 mph (31–49 km/h).

• Deep Depression: If the depression intensifies further then it will become a Deep Depression, which has speeds of between 32–38 mph (50–61 km/h).
• Cyclonic storm: If the Deep Depression develops gale force wind speeds of between 39–54 mph (62–88 km/h), it is called a Cyclonic storm and the IMD assigns a name to it.
• Severe Cyclonic Storm: Severe Cyclonic Storms have storm force wind speeds of between 55–72 mph (89–117 km/h)
• Very Severe Cyclonic Storm: Very Severe Cyclonic Storms have hurricane-force winds of 73–102 mph (118–166 km/h).
• Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm: Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storms have hurricane-force winds of 166–221 km/h (104–137 mph).
• Super Cyclonic Storm: The highest classification used in the North Indian Ocean is a Super Cyclonic Storm, which have hurricane-force winds of above 138 mph (222 km/h).

Naming of cyclones:

• Each Tropical Cyclone basin in the world has its own rotating list of names.
• For cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea, the naming system was agreed by eight member countries of a group called WMO/ESCAP and took effect in 2004.
• These eight countries are – Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand
• The first cyclone after the list was adopted was given the name in the first row of the first column — Onil, proposed by Bangladesh.
• Subsequent cyclones are being named sequentially, column-wise, with each cyclone given the name immediately below that of the previous cyclone.
• Once the bottom of the column is reached, the sequence moves to the top of the next column.
• So far, the first seven columns have been exhausted, and Fani (again proposed by Bangladesh) is the top name in the last column.
• The next cyclone will be named Vayu. When all the names in list are exhausted, the eight countries will propose fresh lists of names.
• The lists for storms in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific basins are, however, rotated when the names in the list get exhausted. Exception are, however, made in certain cases — if a storm causes excessive death and destruction, its name is considered for retirement and is not repeated; it is replaced with another name.
• According to the naming system, Hikka is the name given to a cyclone that follow Cyclone Vayu

Why naming of cyclones is done?

• Appending names to cyclones makes it easier for the media to report on these cyclones, heightens interest in warnings, and increases community preparedness.
• Names are easier to remember than numbers and technical terms and hence can reach greater masses.
• If public wants to suggest the name of a cyclone to be included in the list, the proposed name must meet some fundamental criteria. The name should be short and readily understood when broadcast. Further, the names must not be culturally sensitive and should not convey any unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning.

When did we start naming Cyclones?

• Names have been given to Atlantic storms for the past few hundreds of years. Initially, people living in the Caribbean Islands would name the storms after the saint of the day from the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar for the day on which the hurricane/cyclone occurred.
• The tradition continued till World War II, when forecasters and meteorologists started using female names to identify the storms. 
• In 1953, the US weather service officially adopted the idea and created a new phonetic alphabet (international) of women's names from A to W, leaving out Q, U, X, Y and Z. Subsequent protests by women's liberation bodies in the 60s and 70s helped change the naming procedure for the storms to include male names in 1978.
• The year's first tropical storm was given the name beginning with the letter "A", the second with the letter "B" and so on through the alphabet. In even-numbered years, odd-numbered storms got men's names and in odd-numbered years, odd-numbered storms got women's names.
• The naming of tropical cyclones is a recent phenomenon. The process of naming cyclones involves several countries in the region and is done under the aegis of the World Meteorological Organization.
• For the Indian Ocean region, deliberations for naming cyclones began in 2000 and a formula was agreed upon in 2004. Eight countries in the region - Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand - all contributed a set of names which are assigned sequentially whenever a cyclonic storm develops.