CYCLONE ASNA (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Disaster Management)

Context: The deep depression that has been causing torrents of rain over Gujarat for the past three days is going into intensify into a tropical cyclone over the Arabian Sea according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). When it forms, it would be called Cyclone Asna.

Cyclone Asna

• About: This is the first cyclone that has formed in August in the North Indian Ocean (NIO) region since 1981 and first in the Arabian Sea since 1976, according to cyclone data from the IMD.

o Cyclone Asna will be the first cyclonic storm to develop over the Arabian Sea in August since 1976 as only three cyclonic storms have developed over the Arabian Sea in August from 1891 to 2023.

• Direction: It is anticipated to travel from the Saurashtra-Kutch location of Gujarat in the direction of the Oman coast.
• Name Suggested by: Pakistan when it intensified into a cyclone storm.
• Unusual Behavior: The current storm has maintained consistent intensity over recent days, which is atypical.
• Excess Rainfall: From June 1 to August 29, Saurashtra and Kutch received 799 mm of rain, 86% above the normal rainfall.
• Reason of Formation: The reasons for the formation and intensification of the current deep depression and the other system that formed in the beginning of August over land may lie in the behaviour of the monsoon winds in the current season, apart from the moisture from the Arabian Sea and soil moisture from the lands that they have traversed in their journeys.

Historical rarity of August Cyclones

• Cyclones inside the Arabian Sea in August are extraordinarily rare. Only 3 such storms have been recorded between 1891 and 2023, with the ultimate incidence in 1976. 

o 1944 Cyclone: Intensified after emerging into the Arabian Sea but weakened in the middle of the sea.

o 1964 Cyclone: Developed near South Gujarat and weakened close to the coast.

o 1976 Cyclone: Developed over Odisha, crossed into the Arabian Sea, and in the end weakened near the Oman coast.