Cyclone ‘Tej’
Why in News?
- Recently the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that Cyclone Tej, which is forming a depression in the Arabian Sea, has intensified into an extremely severe cyclonic storm near the coasts of Oman and Yemen.
With Reference to Cyclone ‘Tej’:
- Cyclonic Storm Tej is predicted to move northwestwards and cross the Yemen-Oman coasts between Al Ghaidah (Yemen) and Salalah (Oman) on October 24.
- This extremely severe cyclonic storm is expected to move at a speed of approximately 115-125 km per hour.
- Cyclonic storm Tej is the name given by India.
- This storm has originated in the Arabian Sea.
About Cyclone:
- A cyclone is a low pressure area around which air circulates rapidly towards its center. The wind direction is anti-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Cyclones usually occur with destructive storm surge and inclement weather.
- The word cyclone is derived from the Greek word cyclos which means coils of a snake. The term was coined by Henry Peddington because tropical storms originating in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea appear like coiled serpents of the sea.
Cyclone Status in Arabian Sea:
- Recent years have seen a frequency of “very severe cyclonic storms” over the Arabian Sea.
- An extremely severe cyclone is defined as one whose wind speed reaches 220 km per hour.
Tropical Cyclone:
- Cyclones that originate and develop in the oceans of tropical regions are called ‘tropical cyclones’. These occur between 5° to 30° north and 5° to 30° south latitudes. It is noteworthy that due to minimum Coriolis force in the areas between 5° to 8° latitude on either side of the equator, these cyclones are usually absent.
- Tropical cyclones are extremely destructive atmospheric storms, which originate in the oceanic region between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and then flow towards the land area.
- Due to the effect of ITCZ, winds from different areas converge in the center of low air pressure and due to the effect of Coriolis force, they rise up following a circular path. As a result, tropical cyclones are formed with the help of circular isobars.
- The main areas of tropical cyclones are Caribbean, China Sea, Indian Ocean and Australia.
Source – Indian Express