Sri Lanka names next cyclone as “Pawan”

After Cyclone Bulbul, the next tropical cyclone that would be formed in the Indian sub-continent would be named ‘Pawan’. According to the existing list, ‘Pawan’ is the name given by Sri Lanka, the Indian media reported.

The names of the cyclones that form in the Indian Ocean were sequentially listed in a table in alphabetical order of the names of the eight countries. The cyclonic storm Pawan, pronounced as ‘Pavan’, means ‘wind’. After Cyclone Pawan, the next cyclone will be named ‘Amphan’, a name given by Thailand.

The names of the cyclones in the Indian Ocean region were decided by eight countries including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman and Thailand. These eight nations had been giving names to cyclonic storms since 2004. Till date, 64 cyclones had been named by the said eight nations, of which eight names were given by India -Agni, Akash, Bijli, Jal, Lehar, Megh, Sagar and Vayu. Of the 64 names suggested, 62 have already been used.

The list of the names of cyclones will end after Cyclone Amphan. After all the cyclone names had been used. The committee would meet again, and a fresh list will be prepared by the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC). The recent cyclones that were formed in the Indian Ocean were Cyclone Fani (Bangladesh), Cyclone Hikaa (Maldives), followed by Kyarr (Myanmar), Maha (Oman) and Bulbul (Pakistan).

A tropical cyclone which will be formed after Cyclone Maha would be called Cyclone Bulbul. The cyclone named Bulbul, which is pronounced as ‘Bul Bul’, is a name given by Pakistan. According to the nomenclature, the first tropical cyclone named by Pakistan was Fanoos, followed by Nargis, Laila and Nilam. After Kyarr, Maha and Bulbul, the cyclone which would be formed next will be named by Sri Lanka, which would be ‘Pawan’.

The last name on the list of tropical cyclones was Amphan, a name given by Thailand. Cyclone Fani, which hit Odisha in May, was the longest cyclone that was experienced over the Bay of Bengal, which caused havoc for over 11 days followed by Cyclone ‘Vayu’, which was the second most intense cyclonic storm to have formed near the Indian coast.

The list of the names of cyclones will end after Cyclone Amphan. After all the cyclone names had been used