Islamabad: Pakistan, which is home to almost 250 million people, has issued a warning about Biparjoy, a “extremely severe cyclonic storm” that could hit this week.
The government has started to take precautions, such as closing beaches and taking down signs.
People are asking how and by whom cyclones get their names.
How do they get their names?
Voice of America says that tropical cyclones in South Asia named by a group called the Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC). Seven countries were on the group at first, but now there are 13. They are:
1-Pakistan
2-India
3-Bangladesh
4-Myanmar Thailand Maldives
5-Sri Lanka
6-Oman
7-Iran
8-Saudi Arabia
9-Emirates, United Arab
This time, it was Bangladesh that came up with the name “Biparjoy.”
Before 2004, there was no custom of giving storms names that matched their numbers. However, the PTC and the meteorological offices of all countries later agreed that storms should be given names that are easy to say.
The member countries also agreed that each country would name each cyclone in turn, and that the names should be easy to remember and say. The order of the letters in the name is used to decide who goes next.
Words that describe how strong something is
L — Area with low pressure
D — Depression (17 to 27 knots)
Deep Depression (28–33 knots)
CS — Cyclonic Storm (34 to 47 knots)
SCS stands for “Severe Cyclonic Storm” (48-63 knots).
VSCS stands for “Very Severe Cyclonic Storm” (64-89 knots).
ESCS stands for Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm (90–119 knots).
SuCS stands for “super cyclone storm” (120 knots).
Biparjoy could hit the coast of Pakistan on June 15.
Officials said on Sunday night that Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to hit the coast of southeast Sindh between Pakistan’s Rann of Kutch and India’s Gujarat on June 15 afternoon as a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS).
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that the cyclone could cause strong winds, heavy rain, and flooding in coastal parts of the province.
The NDMA told the relevant officials to run a campaign in the local language to let residents of coastal areas know about the weather and warn them not to go to the shorelines.
“Fishermen shouldn’t go out on the open sea in their boats. In an emergency, you should listen to and work with local officials,” it said.
