Cyclone Montha: How it got its name?

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said cyclonic storm Montha is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by October 28 morning. It is expected to bring heavy rainfall over Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), an agency under the United Nations, there can be more than one cyclone at a time in a particular geographical location or around the globe and the systems can last for a week or more. Therefore, each tropical storm is given a name to avoid confusion, facilitating disaster risk awareness, management, and mitigation.

The name ‘Montha’, meaning beautiful or fragrant flower, was contributed by Thailand.

Also read | Cyclone Montha LIVE updates

There are six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) worldwide and five regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres, which are mandated for issuing advisories and naming of cyclonic storms.

IMD is one of the six RSMCs to provide tropical cyclone and storm surge advisories to 13 member countries under WMO/ESCAP Panel, including Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

The list is arranged according to the names, given by alphabetically-arranged counties, which are neutral to gender, politics, religious beliefs and cultures. It is used sequentially, column wise.

Names are used in rotation and are not reused once assigned to a cyclone.

The first cyclonic storm of the season was named ‘Shakhti’, as suggested by Sri Lanka. The cyclone, which originated as a deep depression in Arabian Sea, intensified into a severe cyclonic storm in early October. However, it moved away from the Indian coastline sparing Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Some of the previous cyclones were named Shakhti (Sri Lanka), Fengal (Saudi Arabia), Dana (Qatar), Asna (Pakistan), Remal (Oman) etc.

Going by the list, the next cyclone will be named Senyar, as suggested by UAE, after that it will be Ditwah (Yemen), Arnab (Bangladesh), and Murasu (India).

Though only feminine names were given to storms in the mid-1900’s and, later, masculine names for those in the southern hemisphere before the end of 1900’s, now, the names are neutral and chosen in such a way that it does not hurt the sentiments of any group of population and will have a maximum of eight letters.