Cyclone Biparjoy: All you need to know about cyclones

Pakistan — home to almost 250 million people — has raised an alert for the “extremely severe cyclonic storm,” dubbed Biparjoy, which could hit the country this week.

The authorities concerned have started taking precautionary measures — including banning entry at beaches, removal of signboards, etc. 

In light of this, people are wondering how cyclones are named and by whom.

How are cyclones named?

A committee named Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) is tasked with naming tropical cyclones in South Asia, according to Voice of America. The panel initially comprised seven countries but has now increased to 13, including:

• Pakistan
• India
• Bangladesh
• Myanmar
• Thailand
• Maldives
• Sri Lanka
• Oman
• Iran
• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates

This time, the name ‘Biparjoy’ was suggested by Bangladesh.

Prior to 2004, there was no tradition of naming storms as they were numbered; however, later, it was decided among the PTC and the meteorological departments of all countries that storms should be named in a manner that is easy to pronounce.

It was also decided among the member countries that each country would take turns in giving a name to each cyclone, and the names should be easy to remember and pronounce. Turns are decided according to the alphabetical order. 

Terminologies defining the intensity

• L — Low-Pressure Area
• D — Depression (17-27 knots)
• DD — Deep Depression (28-33 knots)
• CS — Cyclonic Storm (34-47 knots)
• SCS — Severe Cyclonic Storm (48-63 knots)
• VSCS — Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (64-89 knots)
• ESCS — Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm (90-119 knots)
• SuCS — Super Cyclonic Storm (120 knots)

Biparjoy may hit Pakistan's coast by June 15

Cyclone Biparjoy is likely to hit the coastal belt of southeast Sindh between Pakistan/Rann of Kutch-Indian Gujarat coasts by June 15 afternoon as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS), officials said on Sunday evening.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that the cyclone could cause strong winds, torrential rains, and floods in coastal areas of the province.

The NDMA directed the authorities concerned to run an awareness campaign in the local language to inform residents of the coastal areas of weather conditions and advise them against visiting the shorelines.

“Fishermen should avoid boating in the open sea. Follow and cooperate with local authorities in emergency situations,” it added.