Chennai, December 6: Tamil Nadu recently braved two cyclonic storms - cyclone Nivar and cyclone Burevi - in less than two weeks. After over a dozen cyclones, the next cyclonic storm that may hit the Indian ocean will be called cyclone Arnab. You may be thinking about a loud anchor but it has nothing to do with him. The name Arnab is one of 169 names suggested this year by 13 countries for cyclones forming in the Indian subcontinent and South-East Asian regions. Cyclone Nivar And Gati: What Do These Names Mean? Who Assigns Names to Tropical Cyclones? All You Need to Know About the Nomenclature Formula.

Cyclones forming in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian sea are named from a list prepared by 13 countries – India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen. Each country gives eight names for the list. The names are listed alphabetically country-wise, starting with Bangladesh followed by India, Iran, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan and so on.

Accordingly, a name is assigned to the cyclone taking place subsequently in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.  Following Burevi, the next few cyclones will be named Tauktae (Myanmar), Yaas (Oman) and Gulab (Pakistan). The name Arnab is suggested by Bangladesh. The new list of cyclone names was released by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in April. The first name for a cyclone suggested by India was Agni (fire) in 2004.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 06, 2020 03:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).