Every year, as a cyclone looms over a region, its name becomes a cause of intrigue for many, who wonder why and how is the storm christened.
With Cyclone Asani — a name given by Sri Lanka that means ‘wrath’ in Sinhalese — formed in the Bay of Bengal on Sunday morning and hurtling towards the east coast, the same question pops up again.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), an agency under the United Nations, there can be more than one cyclone at a time in a particular geographical location or around the globe and the systems can last for a week or more.
Therefore, each tropical storm is given a name to avoid confusion, facilitating disaster risk awareness, management and mitigation.
Short and easy-to-pronounce names are helpful in rapidly and effectively disseminating detailed…
