Context

• Recently a fast-moving depression in the Arabian Seais predicted to be intensified into a severe cyclone named ‘Nisarga’.
• It is headed towards the coastline of north Maharashtra and south Gujarat.

Cyclone formation in Arabian Sea

• Cyclones formed in the Bay of Bengal side of the north Indian Ocean are more frequent and stonger than those on the Arabian Sea side.
• Meteorologists suggest the relatively cold waters of the Arabian Sea discourage the kind of very strong cyclones that are formed on the Bay of Bengal side; Odisha and Andhra Pradesh face the brunt of these cyclones every year.
• Five cyclones originated in the area in 2019 — Vayu, Hikka, Kyarr, Maha and Pavan

What is Tropical Cyclone?

• An intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.
• A characteristic feature of tropical cyclones is the eye, a central region of clear skies, warm temperatures, and low atmospheric pressure.
• Storms of this type are called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and eastern Pacific and typhoons in SouthEast Asia and China. 
• They are called tropical cyclones in the southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean region.
• In the southern hemisphere storms rotate clockwise and anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere.