WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones
Also called: Panel on Tropical Cyclones, PTC · Topic: Natural Hazards and Disaster Management in India · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones is a regional group of 13 member countries around the North Indian Ocean (the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea). It works under two UN bodies: the WMO (World Meteorological Organization) and ESCAP (the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific). In 2000, the Panel agreed to give names to cyclones in this region, and naming began in September 2004. Each member country suggests names. In April 2020, a new list of 169 names was released, with 13 names from each country. That list added names from Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen, which had joined when the Panel grew from 8 to 13 members in 2018. A storm gets a name once it becomes a Cyclonic Storm, with steady winds of 34 knots. Names are used in order and are never used again. Short, clear names make warnings easier for people across many countries to understand.
Example
Cyclone Phailin hit the Odisha coast on India's east coast in 2013. Its name came from the Panel's agreed list, suggested by Thailand. Clear, early warnings helped about a million people evacuate, and few died.
Don't confuse with
- RSMC New Delhi: this is the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre, run by IMD under the Ministry of Earth Sciences. The Panel agrees on the names and the rules. RSMC New Delhi gives each storm its name and sends cyclone and storm surge warnings to all 13 member countries.
- NDMA: it plays no role in naming cyclones. Its job is disaster management inside India.