Do you know how Cyclones are named?

The storm, which will be named "Dana," is expected to move northwest and make landfall between northern Odisha and West Bengal by Thursday night. With wind speeds projected to reach up to 120 kmph, the cyclone is predicted to cross into the coastal regions between Puri and Sagar Island by early Friday.

Cyclone Dana will be the second major storm to form over the North Indian Ocean in less than two months, following Cyclone Asna, which developed over the Arabian Sea in August.

The name "Dana," meaning "generosity" in Arabic, was selected by Qatar, as part of the established practice for naming tropical cyclones in this region.

But, How are the Cyclones named?

Why are the Cyclones named
Keeping a name for a cyclone is easy to remember compared to remembering the numbers and technical terms. This doesn't only help the general public but also the scientific community, disaster managers, and media.

With a name, it is easy to recognize cyclones individually and create awareness about it among the public, about its development. It also helps to circulate warnings, increase community preparedness, and clear confusion when there are multiple cyclonic systems over a region.

Who names cyclones:
The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Asia Pacific (ESCAP) have been naming cyclonic storms since 2000.

A group of nations in 2000 called WMO/ESCAP, which includes Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, decided to start giving names to cyclones in the region.

In 2018, WMO/ESCAP expanded by including five more countries, which are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iran, and Yemen.

After the suggestions of each country were sent in, the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC) finalized the list.

The names of the list of 169 cyclones which was released by IMD in April 2020 were provided by all the 13 countries mentioned with 13 suggestions.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) is responsible for naming cyclones that form over the North Indian Ocean, including the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. It also provides cyclone and storm advisories to 12 other countries in the region.

-The name must be neutral to politics, political figures, religious beliefs, genders, and cultures.

-It should not hurt the sentiments of any group of people in the world.

-The name should not be rude or cruel.

-It should be short, easy to pronounce, and inoffensive to any PTC member.

-It should be at most eight letters long.

-It should be provided with pronunciation and voice-over.

-The name should not be repeated.