Cyclone Mandous: How Cyclones Are Named And Who Named This One

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Mandous is likely to intensify into severe cyclonic storm by Thursday evening

With Cyclone Mandous expected to make landfall Friday between Puducherry's Karaikal and Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota, the state governments are bracing for the havoc the cyclonic storm going to create when it hits the shore.

The Tamil Nadu government has announced a holiday on Friday for schools and colleges in Chennai, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Kancheepuram, Thiruvallur and Vellore districts while Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has directed the collectors of southern districts to be vigilant in view of the cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal.

CM Jagan chaired a meeting with the district administrators of Nellore, Tirupati, Chittoor and other south Andhra Pradesh districts and urged officials of the agriculture department to create awareness about the precautions to be taken by the farmers.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), Cyclone Mandous is likely to intensify into severe cyclonic storm by Thursday evening.

What's A Cyclone And How Does It Form?

A tropical storm that developed over South Pacific and Indian Ocean is called cyclone. When a low pressure hovers over warm waters, a cyclone is formed. A cyclone is generated when gusty winds rotate around a low-pressure region in clockwise and anti-clockwise in the Southern and Northern hemispheres, respectively.

The wind speed rotating around the low-pressure area differentiates the types of storms. A tropical storm is when the wind speed is 63 km/h and when the wind speed reaches 119 km/h the storm becomes a tropical cyclone.

Who Named Cyclone Mandous And What Does It Mean?

Cyclones are named by the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMC) and Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWC). In April 2020, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific panel countries named a list of tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean. The 13 countries that were part of the panel to name cyclones are India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar and Iran.   

The United Arab Emirates is among the 13 nations, who has submitted a list of 13 names for cyclones. The UAE named cyclone Mandous, which means "treasure box" in Arabic.

This is the second cyclone to hit the coast after the monsoon this year. The first tropical cyclone was Sitrang, which made landfall in Bangladesh in October. IMD predicts Cyclone Mandous will make landfall on the midnight of Friday.