Cyclone Biparjoy

Recently, after churning across the Arabian Sea for more than ten days, Cyclone Biparjoy has made landfall close to Jakhau Port in Gujarat’s Kutch area, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in June, 2023.

About Biparjoy: A tropical cyclone

• Region: Arabian Seal
• Saffir-Simpson scale: Category 3 Equivalent tropical cyclone
• Affected regions: India and Pakistan
• Name: Suggested by Bangladesh means ‘disaster‘ or ‘calamity‘ in Bengali.
• Developed into a cyclonic storm: On June 6 and made its landfall on June 15, 2023.
• According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Biparjoy was the longest-lasting cyclonic storm to affect the northern Indian Ocean since 1977.
• A cyclone is a large-scale system of air that rotates around the center of a low-pressure area.
• As per National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), a cyclone is characterized by inward. spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Naming of Cyclones:

• WMO (World Meteorological Organization) divided the world Oceans into Basins and assigned the responsibility of naming the Cyclones to the respective regional bodies.
• 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.