The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted a cyclonic storm named Cyclone Michaung over the southwest Bay of Bengal, expected to make landfall in coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh on December 4.
An ‘orange’ alert has been issued by the government agency for Tamil Nadu, as well as coastal and interior Andhra Pradesh on December 3 and 4. Cyclone Michaung is the fourth tropical cyclone of the year in the Bay of Bengal.
About Cyclones
- The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) classifies cyclones into two categories: extratropical cyclones and tropical cyclones.
- A cyclone is a large-scale system of air rotating around the center of a low-pressure area, characterized by inward spiraling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Extratropical cyclones, also known as mid-latitude cyclones, occur outside the tropics and have cold air at their core. They derive energy from the interaction of cold and warm air masses and always have one or more fronts connected to them.
- Tropical cyclones develop in the regions between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer and are the most devastating storms on Earth. They derive energy from the latent heat released when water vapor condenses into liquid water. Unlike extratropical cyclones, tropical cyclones do not have associated warm fronts or cold fronts.
- Tropical cyclones have different names depending on their location and strength, such as hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the North Atlantic Ocean, and the eastern and central North Pacific Ocean, while in the western North Pacific, they are called typhoons.
Q: What is the name of the cyclonic storm forecasted by the India Meteorological Department over the southwest Bay of Bengal in December 2023?
a. Cyclone Amphan
b. Cyclone Nivar
c. Cyclone Michaung
d. Cyclone Vayu
Answer: c. Cyclone Michaung
