CONTEXT
Recently, the tropical cyclone Nivar has made landfall along the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast.Landfall refers to the phenomenon of a cyclone’s outer wall moving over the coastline and beyond.
MAIN POINTS
Tropical Cyclone:
- A tropical cyclone is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.
- A characteristic feature of tropical cyclones is the eye, a central region of clear skies, warm temperatures, and low atmospheric pressure.
- Storms of this type are called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and eastern Pacific and typhoons in SouthEast Asia and China.
- They are called tropical cyclones in the southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean region and Willywillies in north-western Australia.
- Storms rotate anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
Cyclone Nivar:
- It is the fourth cyclone that has taken shape in the North Indian Ocean region this year.
- The first three cyclones were Cyclone Gati (made landfall in Somalia in November), Cyclone Amphan (eastern India witnessed it in May), and Cyclone Nisarga (in Maharashtra).
- Nivar will be the second cyclone to hit Tamil Nadu in two years after Cyclone Gaja in 2018.
- The storm has been named Cyclone Nivar, based on the guidelines of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Nivara has been selected from the list of names given by Iran.
- According to WMO guidelines, countries in every region are supposed to give names for cyclones.
- The North Indian Ocean Region covers tropical cyclones formed over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
- The 13 members, which come under the region, are Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen.
- A total of 169 cyclones were named by these countries for this year, with 13 names from each country.
- It has weakened from a very severe cyclonic storm to a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100-110 km per hour.
Government Steps:
- The Tamil Nadu government has announced a public holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, in 16 districts, including Chennai, considering the impact of Cyclone Nivar.
- Fishing activities have been restricted and residents evacuated in coastal areas hit by the cyclone. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed its teams in the affected regions.
SOURCE: ECONOMIC TIMES