‘Shaheen’, ‘Gulab’, ‘Tej’, ‘Agni’ and ‘Aag’ are among 169 names for future cyclones which will originate from Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. The names have been decided by 13 countries.
The earliest list, compiled in 2004, will be exhausted soon. The next cyclone will be named ‘Amphan’, the last name of the 2004 series, which was proposed by Thailand.
A new panel Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and few others was formed in 2018 to decide the names of the future cyclones.
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 miilennium, 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.
