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Critical Topics and Their Significance for the UPSC CSE Examination on September 09, 2024

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On uncommon cyclones in the Arabian Sea

For Preliminary Examination: Cyclones, Landslides, Flashfloods

For Mains Examination: GS I - Indian Geography, World Geography

Context:

The north Indian Ocean supplies a large part of the moisture required to generate the 200 lakh crore or so buckets of water during the summer monsoon. That implies a lot of evaporation from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, which requires these seas to be warm enough to allow evaporation. Warm tropical oceans also tend to be hotbeds of cyclones

Read about:

What is a Cyclone?

Formation of Cyclone

Key takeaways:

• The northern Indian Ocean provides a significant portion of the moisture necessary to generate the vast amount of water involved in the summer monsoon, which requires substantial evaporation from the warm waters of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
• Despite these conditions being conducive to cyclone formation, this region experiences fewer cyclones compared to other oceanic areas. This is due to a combination of factors that both promote and hinder cyclone formation, making the north Indian Ocean unique in its cyclone activity and how it responds to global warming.

• The Indian Ocean stands out not only for its seasonal wind reversals and monsoon circulation but also because of its ‘oceanic tunnels,’ which link it to both the Pacific and Southern Oceans. Warm water flows into the Indian Ocean from the Pacific through these tunnels at shallow depths, while cooler water enters from the Southern Ocean at greater depths.
• During the pre-monsoon season, the Arabian Sea warms quickly as the sun moves northward, while the Bay of Bengal, being relatively warmer, continues to heat up, leading to convection and rainfall. By mid-May, the monsoon trough begins to form over the Bay of Bengal.
• Following the summer monsoon, the northeast monsoon brings substantial rain to several Indian states. The variations in wind patterns and sea surface temperatures throughout the year significantly affect cyclone formation, contributing to the differences in cyclone activity between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

• During the monsoon season, strong southwesterly winds increase evaporation and mix cooler subsurface waters with surface waters, causing the Arabian Sea to cool significantly. In the Bay of Bengal, strong convection generates many low-pressure systems, but they rarely develop into cyclones due to the variation in wind strength and direction from the surface to the middle atmosphere, known as vertical shear, which disrupts cyclone growth.
• As a result, cyclone activity in the north Indian Ocea