The potent cyclonic storm currently known as ‘Montha’ (pronounced Mon-tha) received its unique identifier from Thailand. This nation is one of 13 member countries contributing names to the Regional Special Meteorological Centre (RSMC), which operates under the guidance of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in New Delhi.
Interestingly, ‘Montha’ translates to ‘fragrant flower’ or ‘beautiful flower’ in Thai. This name comes from a revised list, officially approved in 2020 by the IMD-RSMC. Globally, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) oversees a total of six such Regional Special Meteorological Centres.
The IMD-managed RSMC holds the crucial responsibility for assigning names to cyclones that develop in the northern Indian Ocean, encompassing both the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. As explained by S.V.J. Kumar, a senior meteorologist at the Cyclone Warning Centre-Visakhapatnam, this RSMC’s network includes 13 participating countries, such as India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Bangladesh.
Senior meteorologist Mr. Kumar elaborated on the rationale behind this naming convention. He stated that assigning names to cyclones greatly simplifies identification during urgent weather warnings and critical relief operations. It allows for clearer communication to a broad public and serves as an efficient reference point for archiving historical weather data. This practice began in the IMD-RSMC region in September 2004, with names being officially announced by the IMD once a cyclone’s wind speed hits 65 kilometers per hour.
Mr. Kumar emphasized that cyclone naming is vital for preventing confusion, especially when multiple storms are simultaneously active in the Bay of Bengal or Arabian Sea. This system guarantees rapid, unambiguous, and uniform communication. He also highlighted strict guidelines for names, stating they must steer clear of any political, religious, cultural, or gender-specific connotations, and should never be offensive to any global community. Furthermore, once a cyclone name is used, it is retired and not repeated.
The naming process follows a strict rotational sequence from a pre-approved list. Following Montha, the next cyclone to form in the region will be named ‘Senyar,’ a contribution from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).