Biparjoy cyclonic storm can cause a lot of destruction, the challenge of dealing with Biparjoy’s havoc

The fear of Biparjoy, the first pre-monsoon cyclonic storm of this year, which has risen in the Arabian Sea, remains in many states of the country and that is why the SDRF, NDRF and the Army have taken the front while declaring high alert in the coastal districts. Although the government says that its aim is to ensure ‘zero casualty’ and minimize the possible damage caused by this cyclonic storm, it is believed that this storm can cause a lot of destruction in many areas. On Tuesday, the storm had turned from a severe cyclone to an extremely severe cyclone. This storm, formed in the Gulf of East Central Arabian Sea, is slowly moving in the north direction and it is likely to hit Saurashtra-Kutch in Gujarat in the evening of 15 June. According to the forecast of the Meteorological Department, due to this storm, it may rain in many states of India with strong winds. During this, winds are expected to blow at a maximum speed of 150 kilometers per hour. For this reason, a high alert has been issued in Gujarat regarding this storm. There is a possibility that this storm may take a very severe form, for which the Meteorological Department is continuously giving alerts. According to IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Biparjoy can cause a lot of damage, Kutch, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Jamnagar districts in Gujarat can receive more than 20 cm of rain till June 15. Generally, it does not rain so heavily at this time, so there is a possibility of flood in low-lying areas. According to the Meteorological Department, due to Biparjoy, such strong winds can occur that trees can fall, houses can be damaged, tin sheds can collapse, banks can also be damaged and some areas can be flooded with rain. There can be danger too. In view of Biparjoy threat, 69 trains have been cancelled, 32 trains short-terminated while 26 trains are being short-originated.

Cyclonic storm Biparjoy is centered in the Arabian Sea and according to the Director General of Meteorology, it is most likely to affect North Gujarat on June 15 and 16. Therefore, people in the affected areas have been advised to stay indoors in safe places as it may uproot trees, power poles, cellphone towers, cause power and telecommunication disruptions, and cause severe thunderstorms. Standing crops will also be damaged. The Meteorological Department has warned of heavy rains with strong winds due to this storm in the coastal areas of 8 states Lakshadweep, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The coastal states of India have been frequently affected by such cyclonic storms. Such cyclonic storms leave behind only devastation. Cyclonic storms like Amfan, Nisarg, Nivar that came earlier have also caused huge destruction. Even after such storms pass through causing great devastation, people in the storm-affected areas have to face many problems for a long time. However, even after all the preparations made to deal with the havoc of Biparjoy, devastation is bound to happen, so it is necessary that after its passing, work should be done on a war footing to save people from future troubles.

By the way, such storms which cause heavy destruction are also discussed about their names. Since this storm originated from Bangladesh, Bangladesh has named this storm as Biparjoy. The name ‘Biparjoy’ means calamity or calamity in Bengali. In fact, whatever cyclones occur in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, they are named by the countries of this region in turn. This system is already fixed. This process of naming storms coming in the Indian Ocean has been going on since 2004. Earlier such cyclonic storms have been given different names like Bulbul, Lisa, Hudhud, Katrina, Nivar. India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand have come up with a formula to name storms in the Indian Ocean. All countries have given a list of their names to the World Meteorological Organization. The list includes names like Agni, Akash, Bijli, Megh, Sagar from the Indian side while Nilofer, Titli and Bulbul are the names in Pakistan’s list. On arrival of a nameable cyclone, a name is chosen by rotation from the names sent by the above 8 countries.

There are also important reasons behind the naming of severe storms. Cyclone is derived from the Greek word ‘cyclos’, which means a snake coiled up and ready to strike. In this, the air keeps on rotating inwards in the area of ​​low pressure. Any stormy wind is called a cyclone only when it catches a speed of at least 74 miles per hour (about 119 kilometers per hour). When a storm takes the form of a cyclone, then it is a tradition to give it a name. A storm is given a name so that by having a name, people can be warned in time about its magnitude and people in the affected area can take it seriously. Naming also helps in preparing to deal with such storms. The category of any storm is decided on the basis of wind speed. Hurricanes are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 depending on increasing wind speed.

When the wind blows at a speed of 63 kilometers per hour or more, it is called a tropical storm. When the wind speed is more than 119 kilometers per hour, it is called ‘Tropical Cyclone’. The speed of a cyclonic storm is usually 62 to 88 kilometers per hour, but when the speed of the storm is more than 221 kilometers per hour, it is called a super cyclone. The series of cyclonic storms usually starts from the beginning of summer in the season. When the sun’s heat rises in the ocean near the equator, the sea water becomes warmer than 27 ° C, which causes steam to form and warm air to rise rapidly. When warm air rises, the moisture vapor above combines to form clouds and there is an area of ​​low air pressure. As the warm air rises, the cooler air rushes in to fill the space below and thus the air starts rotating and the clouds filled with moisture also start rotating, causing a storm. The intensity of a storm depends on the excess of heat and moisture.

– Yogesh Kumar Goyal

(The author is a senior journalist and expert on environmental issues and has written a book on environment ‘Pollution Free Breath’)