Cyclone Nisarga: How did it get its name?

Mumbai : The deep depression in the Arabian Sea has transformed into a severe cyclone, which has been officially given name 'Cyclone Nisarga' by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Cyclone Nisarga is set to hit south of Mumbai and coastal areas of Gujarat on June 3. It comes a week after West Bengal and Odisha were rattled by cyclone Amphan.

Nisarga, which is currently brewing in the Arabian Sea, means nature and was named by Bangladesh. The name was accorded in a list formulated by a group of countries.

Bangladesh had also suggested ‘Fani’, which had made a landfall in Odisha on May 3, 2019, and the extremely severe cyclone had caused extensive damage in the eastern state.

The names play a significant role in future studies and scientific data related to them. The naming of cyclones in the Indian Ocean began in 2000 and formula was agreed in 2004.

Cyclones around the world are given names by their regional Meteorological Centres and Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres. In total, there are six RSMCs and five TCWCs, including the India Meteorological Department.

The Indian weather bureau has been mandated with the duty to name cyclones that develop over the North Indian ocean, including Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, by following a standard procedure.

IMD released a list of cyclone names in April 2020 as suggested by the 13 countries. The names like Arnab, Nisarga, Aag, Vyom, Azar, Prabhanjan, Tej, Gati, Lulu among 160 other names were listed.

The next few cyclones will be named Gati (named by India), Nivar (Iran), Burevi (Maldives), Tauktae (Myanmar) and Yaas (Oman).

Meanwhile, the IMD maintains that the names suggested should not be motivated from gender, politics, religion and culture.