Cyclone Dana will make landfall near Bhitarkanika and Dhamara of Odisha during night of 24th to morning of 25th October, 2024 as a severe Cyclonic Storm. The wind speed will be 100-110 km/h, gusting up to 120 km/h. Apart from important information, people are also curious to know the meaning and reason behind the interesting name “Dana”. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), meaning of the name “Dana” is generosity in Arabic. The name was suggested by Qatar. The name cyclone Dana will follow previous storms like Nisarga, Gati, and Tauktae.
As per the WMO, naming the cyclones makes it easier to keep track of it and and communicate about it. This practice reduces the chances of confusion among the meteorologists, public and emergency management teams specially when multiple storms are active at the same time period.
According to sources, the cyclone naming tradition was started in early 19th century. At first the meteorologists used to name a cyclone according to the location they are going to impact or any significant date. In the late 19th century, meteorologist Clement Wragge suggested to start naming the cyclones after the names of saints and notable figures. This naming system continued till the mid-20th century. After that the cyclones were started naming as common female names. This system faced many backlashes from public. The process stopped in 2000 when different countries started naming based on local languages and cultures. The WMO established a list of names for cyclones in the North Indian Ocean, suggested by different countries, including India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar in 2004.
The process of naming cyclones includes, six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) and five Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs) globally. The Indian Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) has been established in New Delhi. It mainly decides the naming process for the North Indian Ocean basin. It has 13 countries as member countries. The cyclone naming process is followed by key criteria which includes political and cultural neutrality, ease of pronunciation. The maximum length of the name should be of eight letters. The selection process of naming the cyclone is discussed at the annual or biennial meetings of the relevant tropical cyclone regional bodies. They decide the name considering the character length for easy communication and pronunciation, cultural significance, and uniqueness. It ensures that the names are not reused in other regions.
In 2020, the latest compilation was issued. It featured the list of 169 names contributed by member countries. Each countries have submitted 13 names. The names get selected from the list until all the names gets used. After the list finishes, the naming resumes from the next list.
As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Meteorological Centre Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Cyclone Dana will make landfall near Bhitarkanika and Dhamara of Odisha during night of 24th to morning of 25th October, 2024 as a severe Cyclonic Storm. Squally wind speed will reach 40-50 gusting to 60 kmph. It is very likely to commence from 23rd Oct evening. It would gradually increase becoming gale wind speed reaching 60-70 kmph gusting to 80 kmph from 24th morning and reaching 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph from 24th night till 25th October morning and decrease gradually thereafter. This will be the wind speed along and off Odisha coasts.
