The practice of naming cyclones |17 January 2024

Recent photo of cyclone Belal in the Indian Ocean

Naming cyclones has been a practice initiated years ago to facilitate the quick identification of storms (tropical cyclones) in warning messages because names are presumed to be far easier to remember than the numbers and technical terms.

Many agree that giving names to storms makes it easier for the media to report on tropical cyclones, heightens interest in warnings and increases community preparedness. Experience shows that the use of short, distinctive names in written as well as spoken communications is quicker.

In the beginning, storms were named arbitrarily. Then the mid-1900 saw the start of the practice of using feminine names for storms. In the pursuit of a more organised and efficient naming system, meteorologists later decided to identify storms using names from a list arranged alphabetically. Thus, a storm with a name which begins with A, like Anne, would be the first storm to occur in the year. Before the end of 1900s, forecasters started using male names for those forming in the Southern Hemisphere.

Since 1953, Atlantic tropical storms have been named from lists originated by the National Hurricane Center. They are now maintained and updated by an international committee of the World Meteorological Organisation.

It is important to note that tropical cyclones/hurricanes are named neither after any particular person, nor with any preference in alphabetical sequence. The tropical cyclone/hurricane names selected are those that are familiar to the people in each region.

Each year, the heads of meteorological services choose names and propose them to the committee, which finalises the selections made by countries in the Indian Ocean region. The list comprises names proposed by member countries of the South-West Indian Ocean tropical cyclone committee, including Mauritius, Réunion, Seychelles, South Africa, Kenya, among others. The cyclone season in this zone typically spans from November to April 30.

The 26 chosen names are: Alvaro (chosen by Mozambique), Belal (Mauritius), Candice (France), Djoungou (Comoros), Eleanor (Zimbabwe), Filipo (Botswana), Gamane (Eswatini), Hidaya (Tanzania), Laly (Madagascar), Jeremy (Seychelles), Kanga (South Africa), Luidzi (Malawi), Melina (Malawi), Noah (France), Onias (Zimbabwe), Pélagie (Madagascar), Quamar (Comoros), Rita (Seychelles), Solani (Eswatini), Tarik (Mauritius), Urilia (South Africa), Vuyane (Lesotho), Wagner (Kenya), Xusa (Malawi), Yarona (Botswana), and Zacarias (Mozambique).

Compiled by Vidya Gappy

Copyright photo: Force Thirteen