Frequency Of Cyclones In Arabian Sea More Than Doubled In Nearly Four Decades

The frequency of cyclones in the Arabian Sea increased by 52 per cent and the number of very severe cyclones has risen by 150 per cent between 1982 to 2019 compared to two decades before that, according to a recent study.

The Bay of Bengal, on the other hand, has witnessed a slight decrease in the frequency of cyclones during the same period.

Rising ocean temperature

M K Roxy, a co-author of the study, said the increase in cyclone activity in the Arabian Sea is tightly linked to the rising ocean temperatures and increased availability of moisture due to global warming.

NASA

"There is a 52 per cent increase in the number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea. Very severe cyclones have increased by 150 per cent. The number of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal has declined by eight per cent between 1982 and 2019," he said.

The study was conducted by Medha Deshpande, Vineet Kumar Singh, Mano Kranthi Gandhi, M K Roxy, R Emmanuel, Umesh Kumar. They belong to the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology; Department of Atmospheric and Space Sciences, Savitribai Phule Pune University; School of Environmental and Earth Sciences, KBC North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon; Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela.

Roxy said there is an 80 per cent increase in the total duration of cyclones in the Arabian Sea during the last two decades. The duration of very severe cyclones has increased by 260 per cent.

AFP

However, there has been no significant change in the duration of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal.

The intensity of cyclones has increased in the Arabian Sea by about 20 per cent during the post-monsoon. The accumulated cyclone energy in the Arabian Sea has almost tripled but there has been no significant change in this regard in the Bay of Bengal, Roxy added.