Cyclone Tauktae, the first Cyclone of 2021, was a hot topic of discussion for the past few weeks. The Cyclone has affected Goa, Mumbai and Gujrat, and a few other states of the country. NDRF and other bodies have battle-level preparation to face the effects of the Cyclone. Now Cyclone Tauktae passed, but it’s an important topic from the exam’s point of view.
As of now, we know the impact and effect of Cyclone Tauktae, but we must know how it was formed and travel? How it got such a weird name, and what is its meaning? Further in the article, we will also understand how cyclones are named, and there will be more cyclones in 2021. But, first, let’s start from knowing more about cyclone Tauktae;
What is Cyclone Tauktae?
First, let’s know the meaning of Cyclone’s name, Tauktae. The meaning of Tauktae in the Burmese language is Gecko, a lizard that makes a noisier sound. Myanmar gave this name to the recent Cyclone.
Cyclone Tauktae is a tropical cyclone, and it was developed in the Arabian Sea. It escalated quite significantly and then traveled across the west coastline of India. Its landfall was in Gujrat, but it affected all the areas on its way, like Goa and Mumbai. The Cyclone left a trail of destruction of properties and loss of lives. The NDRF has saved many people traveling in the water, but a few were not lucky enough, and they had to lost their lives.
The Cyclone hit the states Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra before reaching its destination, Gujrat. After its landfall at certain parts of Gujrat, it got weak. If we analyze the Cyclone path, we will find that it gets stronger as it moved ahead. Initially, the speed of winds was as high as 55 KT but had it procced further, its speed became 85 KT, and when it hit the land, its speed was reduced drastically. At the time of landfall in Gujrat, thr spend of the Cyclone was 35KT. The speed of the Cyclone also indicates that it was a tropical cyclone. A tropical cyclone remains stronger when its on water bodies, but as soon as it hits the land, it becomes weaker.
We have also observed that all the west coastline area received huge rainfall due to Cyclone but other parts of the country, far from the cyclone-affected area, had good rainfall, i.e., Delhi. Delhi is no near to the west coastline of the country, but it has a significantly high rain, and Tauktae was the reason behind it.
In the coastal states like Goa and Maharashtra, where the Cyclone was at its high speed, the sea level increased dramatically. Though it was for a short period only it happened can cause destructions to the building near the sea. It is also a characteristic of the tropical Cyclone. Here you must also know that tropical Cyclones are not developed only in the Arabian sea. Upcoming cyclone Yaas is again a tropical cyclone, and it is building in the ‘Bay of Bengal.’ This Cyclone is again very powerful, and it will affect West Bengal and Odisha on 26 May ’21. Now, let’s understand how the tropical Cyclone like Tauktae formed;
How was Tauktae Formed?
As we mentioned earlier in the article, Tauktae is a tropical cyclone. Now, let’s know in detail how tropical cyclones are formed. Before proceeding further to grab more knowledge about the topic, keep in mind, cyclones like Tauktae cannot originate over the land areas.
Tropical cyclones are extremely low-pressure areas that are formed overseas or other large water bodies. The low-pressure areas are caused by prolonged heating. This is why tropical cyclones develop before the Monsoon when the temperature is high on land and in water. However, tropical cyclones also formed just after the monsoonal rain when the temperature is high in the water bodies. So, the heated water bodies up to 50 meters of depth create a low pressure and make an ideal situation for the formation of tropical Cyclone.
As the names suggest, the tropical cyclones get formed in the tropical region, between Tropic of Cancer in the North and Tropic of Capricorn in the south. Tropical cyclones are common in all tropical areas, but they are named differently. Hurricane, Typhoons are also tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and Western Pacific & South Asia sea, respectively.
In tropical regions, the water’s temperature is usually high, so tropical cyclone formation is frequent. Now you must have understood how tropical cyclones are developed.
To understand the formation of cyclone Tauktae you need to know the movement of air. Air always flows from a high-pressure area to low pressure area. When a tropical Cyclone developed in an extremely low-pressure area, it attracts wind from all sides.
Due to earth movement on its axes, a Coriolis force is created, which causes a circular motion of the wind towards low pressure. This is why in Cyclone, we see a circular movement of air. Therefore, in the northern hemisphere, in the low-pressure area, the movement of the winds will always be anti-clock wise whereas, in the southern hemisphere, the movement of the air will be clockwise.
For the formation of tropical Cyclone like Cyclone Tauktae, the following conditions are required;
- Large Sea Surface with a temperature of more than 27 degrees Celsius. When cyclone Tauktae was formed, the temperature of Arabian sea level was 30 to 32 degrees Celsius till the depth of 30 meters. The temperature to form a cyclone should be high to the depth of 50 to 70 meters in the water from the surface.
- Strong Collision Force is another requirement for the formation of tropical Cyclones. the force is 0 on the equator region, but above and below regions, its high so the circulation in the air appears, and cyclones are formed there.
- A preexisting low-pressure area initiates the formation of tropical Cyclones, so its another requirement for cyclone formation.
So, due to low pressure, winds from all directions approach the sea where Cyclone is about to be formed. Collision fore gives a circular movement to the wind when the wind rises. Here you must know the rose in the wind happen when they reach heated water and become lighter. The winds have high humidity and moisture, and because of their properties, the clouds are formatted on a low level, but the central portion of the Cyclone has no cloud. The Cyclone moves further on the water body and raises its temperature, so low pressure creates, and that’s how the Cyclone gets stronger on the water surface. The same has been observed in the case of Cyclone Tauktae.
How are Cyclones Named?
Cyclones have some weird names like Tauktae. They get their names from global bodies like United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia; the Pacific gives names to cyclones. Besides, World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), tropical cyclone warning centers, and regional specialized meteorological centers (RSMC). These bodies prepare the names for the cyclones.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and other bodies also suggest names for the tropical cyclones in the north Indian Ocean region. Countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Thailand, Oman, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen give their suggestions to name a cyclone. Its essential to give a unique name to a cyclone so that people remember it and documentation about the cyclones become easy.
Will there be more Cyclones in 2021?
As Cyclone Tauktae hit the Gujrat, another cyclone has risen from the Bay of Bengal. The name of this Cyclone is ‘Yaas.’ It got this name from Oman. After ‘Yaas’ we are to prepare for ‘Gulab.’ It got this name from Pakistan. Here are other cyclones that will hit the land in 2021;
- Shaheen (Named by Qatar),
- Jawad (Named by Saudi Arabia)
- Asani (Named by Sri Lanka),
- Sitrang (Named by Thailand),
- Mandous (Named by UAE),
- and Mocha (Named by Yemen).
