What is Cyclone Fani, why naming is important?

New Delhi, May 02: As Fani, an 'extremely severe' cyclonic storm approaches Odisha coast is expected to cross Odisha coast between Gopalpur and Chandbali, near Puri on Friday afternoon.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that the cyclone will first hit Puri district after which it will move northwards towards Khurda, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapada, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore and Mayurbhanj.

Peculiar names

Cyclones and hurricanes that create havoc and destruction and even those that don't, are often given peculiar names like 'Fani', 'Titli', 'Laila', 'Helen' etc. Have you ever wondered on how these are chosen and why?

The tradition started with hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean, where tropical storms that reach sustained wind speeds of 39 miles per hour were given names. Incidentally, hurricanes, typhoons, cyclones are all the same, just different names for tropical storms in different parts of the world; Hurricane in the Atlantic, Typhoon in the Pacific and Cyclone in the Indian Ocean.

Who named Fani?

Cyclones are always named by agencies for ease of communication.

Fani was named by Bangladesh, a Bengali word, which loosely translated means "the hood of a snake".

Why cyclones named?

The practice of naming tropical cyclones help in the quick identification of storms in warning messages because names are presumed to be far easier to remember.

Naming cyclones helps to identify each individual tropical cyclone, makes it easier to report on them, heightens interest in warnings, increases community preparedness, and does not confuse the public.