The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned fishermen of rains and high-speed winds in the southeast Bay of Bengal from May 8 onwards in view of the formation of a cyclonic storm. The windspeed is expected to reach 40-50 kmph from Sunday onwards.  

This cyclone is named Mocha (pronounced ‘Mokha’), a name suggested by Yemen, a Western Asian country.

Mocha is a port city on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. The city is known to have introduced coffee to the world over 500 years ago.

According to the weather office, the weather system was likely to form a depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal around May 9, and then intensify into a cyclonic storm.

The cyclonic storm is expected to make landfall between May 7 and May 9. 

On May 8 2022,  cyclonic storm ‘Asani’ had developed in the Bay of Bengal but later fizzled out.

The severe cyclonic storm ‘Yaas’ made landfall in Odisha’s Balasore district on the morning of May 26, 2021. Cyclone Amphan made landfall between the Sagar islands of West Bengal and the Hatiya islands of Bangladesh on the evening of May 20, 2020.

The last storm forming in Bay of Bengal in April was ‘Fani’, which made landfall over the Odisha coast near Puri as an extremely severe cyclonic storm on May 3, 2019. 

What is a cyclone?
A cyclone is a low-pressure system that forms over warm waters. Usually, a high temperature anywhere means the existence of low-pressure air, and a low temperature means high-pressure wind.

How are cyclones named?
Powerful storms are named by the regional specialised meteorological centres (RSMCs) and Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs). There are six RSMCs in the world, including the India Meteorological Department (IMD), and five TCWCs.

They do it to make us more aware when severe weather is on the way.

Key Takeaways

• The current cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal is named `Mocha`, according to the RSMC
• Cyclone Mocha is the first cyclone of 2023.

• This cyclone is named Mocha (pronounced ‘Mokha’), a name suggested by Yemen.

• Mokha is a port city on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. The city is known to have introduced coffee to the world over 500 years ago.