Who named Cyclone Asani? What does it mean?
India Today
The weather system over southeast Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm on Monday. It has been named 'Asani' by Sri Lanka.
The depression over southeast Bay of Bengal is expected to intensify first into a deep depression and later into a cyclonic storm on Monday, the India Meteorological Department has said.
If it does indeed develop into a cyclonic storm, it will be called 'Cyclone Asani'. The name has been given by Sri Lanka.
As per reports, 'asani' roughly translates to 'wrath' in Sinhala, one of the official languages in Sri Lanka.
Fortunately, the weather system is not likely to live up to its name. It is expected to be a cyclonic storm of wind speeds ranging beyween 70 km and 90 km, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said.
It will, most probably, not turn into a cyclone of high intensity.
There are six regional meteorological centres across the world with the mandate of naming tropical cyclones. The Indian Meteorological Department is one of the six. New Delhi is mandated to name tropical cyclones that develop over the north Indian Ocean (NIO) including the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the Arabian Sea (AS).
For the same, the IMD follows a standard procedure. Names are proposed by thirteen member countries - Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
