Gulab To Cross Andhra-Odisha Coast Tomorrow; India’s Neighbour Named This Cyclone

By OB Bureau On Sep 25, 2021

Bhubaneswar: The depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a deep depression on Saturday morning and it is most likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm in the next 12 hours.

The system is expected to cross south Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh coasts around Kalingapatnam between Gopalpur and Visakhapatnam at a wind speed of 70-80 kmph by the evening of September 26.

This tropical cyclone, brewing over the Bay of Bengal, has been named Gulab, which means Rose, a perennial flowering plant. The name has been given by Pakistan.

This is among 169 names for future cyclones, which will originate from the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The names were decided by 13 countries -India, Iran, Maldives, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the UAE and Yemen in 2018.

Prior to Gulab, cyclone Yaas, which made landfall in Odisha’s Bhadrak at noon on May 26, was proposed by Oman. Meaning the flower jasmine in English, the name has its origin in the Persian language.

On May 19, a very severe cyclonic storm Tauktae had hit the Gujarat coast. It means ‘gecko’, or a lizard, and was termed by India’s neighbour Myanmar.

Amphan was the last name in the 2004 series and it was proposed by Thailand. Cyclone Onil, which struck Pakistan in 2004, was the first name on this list.

Typically, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the north Indian Ocean witness five cyclones a year. The new list could thus cover the next 25 years.

The naming convention, which started in the new millennium, helped create better awareness and removed confusion.

India had reportedly proposed Gati (speed), Tej (speed), Marasu (musical instrument in Tamil), Aag (fire) and Neer (water).

The names are supposed to be easy to pronounce, neutral to politics, religions, cultures and gender. Also, it should not be ‘very rude and cruel’ in nature.

The Indian Meteorological Department names the cyclonic storms rising in the North Indian Ocean when their forecast says that the depression has intensified into cyclonic storms with a 3-minute sustained wind speed of at least 63 kmph.