Cyclone Nivar | 26 Nov 2020
Why in News
Recently, the tropical cyclone Nivar has made landfall along the Tamil Nadu-Puducherry coast.
- Landfall refers to the phenomenon of a cyclone’s outer wall moving over the coastline and beyond.
Key Points
- Tropical Cyclone:
- A tropical cyclone is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.
- A characteristic feature of tropical cyclones is the eye, a central region of clear skies, warm temperatures, and low atmospheric pressure.
- Storms of this type are called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and eastern Pacific and typhoons in SouthEast Asia and China. They are called tropical cyclones in the southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean region and Willy-willies in north-western Australia.
- Storms rotate anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
- Cyclone Nivar:
- It is the fourth cyclone that has taken shape in the North Indian Ocean region this year. The first three cyclones were Cyclone Gati (made landfall in Somalia in November), Cyclone Amphan (eastern India witnessed it in May), and Cyclone Nisarga (in Maharashtra).
- Nivar will be the second cyclone to hit Tamil Nadu in two years after Cyclone Gaja in 2018.
- The storm has been named Cyclone Nivar, based on the guidelines of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Nivara has been selected from the list of names given by Iran.
- According to WMO guidelines, countries in every region are supposed to give names for cyclones.
- The North Indian Ocean Region covers tropical cyclones formed over Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
- The 13 members, which come under the region, are Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen.
- A total of 169 cyclones were named by these countries for this year, with 13 names from each country.
- It has weakened from a very severe cyclonic storm to a severe cyclonic storm with a wind speed of 100-110 km per hour.
- Government Steps:
- The Tamil Nadu government has announced a public holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, in 16 districts, including Chennai, considering the impact of Cyclone Nivar.
- Fishing activities have been restricted and residents evacuated in coastal areas hit by the cyclone. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed its teams in the affected regions.