Daily Current Affairs 04 December 2024 – IAS Current Affairs
Current Affairs 04 December 2024 focuses on the Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :Cyclone Fengal
Source: The Hindu
GS III: Environment and Conservation
Overview
- News in Brief
- About Cyclone Fengal
- What are Cyclones?
News in Brief
- The Meteorological Department has issued a warning of significant rainfall.
- Cyclone Fengal made landfall near Puducherry on Novemver 30.
About Cyclone Fengal
- It brings heavy rainfall and gusty winds to Tamil Nadu’s coastal belt, including Chennai and Puducherry.
- This is the second cyclone to impact India’s east coast in two months after Cyclone Dana.
- Cyclone Fengal, initially stagnant, intensified as it moved closer to land, reaching about 120 km east of Puducherry and 110 km southeast of Chennai before landfall.
- The cyclone made landfall between Mahabalipuram and Karaikal with wind speeds of 70-80 km/hr, gusting to 90 km/hr. Heavy rainfall and gusty winds disrupted public transport, with buses, trains, and flights affected.
- Wind Speed: The cyclone brought wind speeds of 70-80 km/hr, gusting up to 90 km/hr.
- Rainfall: Heavy rainfall was recorded across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, leading to flooding in several areas.
- Landfall: Cyclone Fengal made landfall between Mahabalipuram and Karaikal, causing significant disruption to public transport, including buses, trains, and flights
- Infrastructure Damage: The strong winds and heavy rainfall caused damage to infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and buildings.
- Agricultural Losses: The cyclone affected agricultural lands, leading to crop damage and loss of livestock.
- Humanitarian Impact: Thousands of people were evacuated from vulnerable areas to safer locations. Relief operations were initiated to provide food, water, and medical aid to affected communities.
What are Cyclones?
- Cyclones are a type of tropical weather system characterized by strong winds and heavy rainfall.
- They are also known as hurricanes or typhoons, depending on the region where they occur.
- Cyclones form over warm ocean waters and can cause significant damage to coastal areas.
- They are classified based on their wind speed, with Category 5 cyclones being the most severe.
- Cyclones can also cause storm surges, which are large waves that can inundate low-lying areas and cause flooding.
- They are fueled by the heat and moisture from the ocean, which causes the air to rise and form clouds.
- As the air continues to rise, it creates an area of low pressure at the surface.
- This low-pressure area draws in more warm, moist air from the surrounding area, which fuels the cyclone and causes it to spin.
- The rotation of the Earth causes the cyclone to spin
- Counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere
- Clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Cyclones can cause significant damage to coastal areas due to their strong winds and heavy rainfall.
- Who/Authority: World Meteorological Organisation, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (WMO/ESCAP) Panel on Tropical Cyclones (PTC).
- Why name Cyclone?
- Avoid confusion if two or more cyclones are occurring simultaneously over the region.
- Naming helps in future reference.
- Who are the member countries? : India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Maldives, Oman, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
- Naming from the list
- With 8 countries in 2004, there was a list of 64 names eight names from each country.
- In later years the member countries increased to 13 combined releasing 169 names of cyclones with 13 names from each country.
- Conditions for naming :
- Names of the cyclones should be short, simple and easily understood.
- Culturally sensitive or convey any inflammatory meaning.
- India has, so far, proposed the names Gati (speed), Tej (speed), Marasu (musical instrument in Tamil), Aag (fire), Jhar (storm), Ghurni (whirlpool), Vega (speed) and Neer (water).
- Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by names such as hurricane, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, and simply cyclone.
- A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean.
- Typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
- Cyclone occurs in the South Pacific or Indian Ocean.