(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) The Big Picture: Increasing Incidence of Severe Cyclones

Topic: Increasing Incidence of Severe Cyclones

Guest:

Dushmanta Ranjan Pattanaik, (Scientist F, Head, Numerical Weather Prediction, IMD)
Saurabh Bhardwaj, (Fellow and Area Convener, Center for Climate Modelling, The Energy and Resources Institute - TERI)

Topic Description:

The powerful Cyclone Tauktae battered the western coast. The cyclone is currently classified as an ‘Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm’ and is the fifth-strongest cyclone ever in recorded history in the Arabian Sea. At a time,when India is battling a massive spread of Covid-19, the cyclonic storm has unleashed a double-edged sword to people in the western coastal areas. The IMD categorises tropical storms, which rotate in an anti-clockwise direction, into Depression, Deep Depression, Cyclonic Storm, Severe Cyclonic Storm, Very Severe Cyclonic Storm, Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm, and Super Cyclonic Storm. Cyclones occur in the pre-monsoon months of May-June and the post-monsoon months of October-November. India has faced 170 storms since 1970, which is the fourth highest after the United States, the Philippines and China in the same duration.